Chaotic Lullaby
by My Purple Skies
Summary: (THE THIRD INSTALLMENT TO THE CHAOS SERIES.) It's been over a year since Samantha was forced to marry the Joker and he's up to something that involves using the amnesic Edward Nigma. Now a new character is coming into play, one with a certain fascination for Samantha's friend, Alice. A mad man with a hat. (Rated T for psychotic behavior, violence, and menace.)
1. Sneak Peek to Chapter One

**(Hey Dear Readers! Here's that sneak peek I promised you for Chaotic Lullaby! Enjoy!)**

Chapter One

Samantha, Alice and Harleen walked down the halls of their school, laughing at something Samantha had said. The loud clang of metal that came from around the corner brought their laughter to a sudden halt. The girls slowed their pace to briefly look at each other before hurrying to the turn in the hall ahead of them. Samantha rounded the corner first and came to a sudden stop, making Alice and Harleen bump into her. Alice looked over her friend's shoulder and gasped.

Allan Jordan was being held up against the lockers by a big, muscular, body-builder, of a jock. The jock's hands were clenched around the front of Allan's red shirt. A look of pure hatred was on the jock's face, but Allan was grinning. "You wanna say that to my face?" the jock hissed.

Allan sighed. "Really; you _want _me to repeat it?" he asked, nonchalant.

The jock slammed Allan against the lockers, hard, causing Allan to slightly wince. "You're nothing but a piece of sh-!"

Allan wagged a finger at the jock. "Ah-ta-ta-ta-ta-tah! Let's not swear. There are ladies present." He jerked his head in the girl's direction.

The jock turned to look, giving Allan the opportunity to make a move. He latched onto the side of the jock's head and butted him. The jock let go of Allan and moved his hands to the spot where their heads had made contact. Allan maneuvered himself to be behind the jock and shoved him face first up against the lockers. He grabbed the jock's arm and twisted it behind his back.

Allan leaned to the side to look the jock in the eyes. "Now, uh, whaaat was that you were saying about me being nothing, hm?" he asked. The jock let out a grunt as the lockers' combination knobs poked him in the chest. "What? What was that?" Allan goaded.

"If those girls weren't around, I'd show you what I've got in store for you!"

"Oh don't use the girls as an excuse for your inability to hurt me. That's juuussss_**t-ah**_… pathetic." Allan then twisted the jock's arm, making the athlete clench his teeth and squeeze his eyes shut. Allan grinned at the sight and twisted his arm a bit further. The jock opened his mouth in a silent yell and bared his teeth.

Harleen gave a nervous laugh. "Al, alright boys. Come on, that's enough," she said. Allan ignored her and kept going.

Alice grew more and more upset. "Hey, Allan, please stop," she asked in a small voice. This time the jock let out a scream of pain.

"Allan!"

Allan's head snapped in the direction of the voice to see Samantha staring straight at him. The look on her face was hard to read but her voice was telling him the obvious; 'stop!' Allan eased up on the jock's arm as he kept eye contact with Samantha. He looked away to glance down at the jock and then returned his gaze to Samantha. "Let him go…please," she asked in a calm voice.

Allan shoved the jock against the locker once more and released him. The jock slid to a slumped, sitting position on the floor. Samantha stepped towards the jock, glancing warily at Allan, and found the athlete examining how much movement he could coax out of his arm. He looked up at her and frowned. "I didn't need your help," he told her.

"Just get out of here," Samantha spat back.

The jock gritted his teeth as he got to his feet. He shot a hateful glare at Allan and walked away. Allan turned to Samantha with a smug grin on his face. The expression disappeared when he saw the hard stare Samantha was giving him. "What?" he asked her.

"What is wrong with you?"

Allan quirked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You were going to break his arm-!"

"He was going to break _**me**_!"

"Out of anger! But _you_ …" Samantha paused and looked into Allan's eyes. They were practically glimmering with excitement! "…You were going to do it because you _wanted _to. Allan, I saw the look on your face; you were going to love it if you broke his arm, weren't you?"

Allan didn't answer. He gave the floor a split second glance before bringing his eyes back up to hers. But she knew. The answer was 'yes'.

"Allan… you need help."

Allan's entire body went rigid. His eyes flashed and turned into an engulfing shade of black. He snaked his tongue along his bottom lip and tapped his foot on the floor at a fast pace. His voice took on a strange, uneven tone. "I need help?" he repeated with a scoffing laugh. "There's something wrong with _**me**_? Let me ask ya something, Samantha…. What. Do. You. Know. About. Me? Hm? What does _**anyone **_know about me? Everyone is always saying that there's something wrong with me; but maybe there's something wrong with _**them**_!"

Samantha fought the urge to back away as Allan stared her down. "Okay, listen; maybe I was out of line. But Allan..."

"But Allan- what?" Allan suddenly reached out and seized Samantha by the wrist. His fingers painfully dug into her skin. "Come on, finish your sentence!"

Samantha clawed at Allan's hand to get him to release her. "Allan, let go! You're hurting me!"

Insane laughter filled the air, making the blood in Samantha's veins freeze. She looked up at Allan's face. In its place was her living nightmare. An ashen white face, blackened eye sockets, blood red lips, straight yellow teeth, and wild green hair. Two jagged scars, high-lighted in red paint, started from the corners of his mouth and curled up like a smile. Another scar, much smaller than the other two, went from his bottom lip and came down, stopping near the middle of his chin.

The nightmare grinned maliciously at Samantha and pulled her towards him. She looked back at Harleen and Alice. Harleen was laughing and her face was changing into a harlequin. Alice gasped at the change and turned to run, only to fall down, down, down, into a black hole. Everything began to fade and was replaced by a dim room with no windows and no doors. Harleen and Alice were gone. Samantha was trapped inside the room with a monster!

The Joker let out another maniacal laugh and threw Samantha against one of the walls. She scrambled to stand up right and then felt the Joker's body pressing in on her. A knife appeared out of nowhere and was held to her throat. "Let you go?" the Joker laughed. "Oh Samanthaaaa; I'll never let you go! You're just too much fun… and you're _**mine**_!"

A shot of agonizing heat wrapped itself around Samantha's left hand and she brought it up into view. The golden ring on her finger was glowing with a red hot hue. The Joker threw back his head and howled with laughter. "All mine!"

….

Samantha jolted awake from her dream; a cold sweat broken out over her skin. She was breathing rapidly and her body was trembling. Her green eyes darted all over the room to see none of the images she had seen in her nightmare.

"Mrs. Reads? Are you alright?" a foreign voice asked.

Samantha turned her head to face the voice that had spoken to her. "_Do I __**look**__ alright?"_ she thought, angrily. She sat up from the chaise lounge and glared at the man sitting nearby. "You told me you wouldn't do that again! I told you not to hypnotize me!"

Samantha's psychiatrist, Dr. Hugo Strange, sighed heavily and removed his glasses. "Mrs. Reads, as I have said before, the hypnosis is necessary. How can I treat you if I do not know what lies inside your mind?" he asked in his thick accent. Samantha had been seeing the man for nearly five months and she still couldn't place his nationality.

It had been a year and five months since Samantha had been plunged into a living nightmare with the Joker and her nightmares had increased to her breaking point. After putting it off for a year, Samantha had finally decided to take Dr. Arkham's advice and see Dr. Strange. She was told that Dr. Strange specialized in hypnosis and dreams, and she was becoming desperate for a good night's sleep. But so far, Samantha and Dr. Strange kept butting heads with one another. There had been a few other instances where the man had trampled on touchy areas and invaded her privacy.

Samantha swung her legs over the chair and let her feet touch the floor. She gripped the bottom of the chair, tightly. "You lied," she snapped.

"It was necessary."

Samantha scoffed. She was getting tired of all these 'necessary' liberties that Dr. Strange took. She knew psychiatrists were bound to keep the secrets of their patients and that they were meant to be helpful; but Dr. Strange didn't exactly seem to follow the same rules as others of his profession did.

"I've had it, Dr. Strange. I asked you to never hypnotize me again the first time you did it and you betrayed my trust."

"Mrs. Reads," he began. He always seemed to start his sentences by addressing her. "You are under great stress. Consciously, you refuse to enlighten me on the subjects that I question you about. You are too guarded. With you under hypnosis, your unconscious mind opens up and I am able to diagnose you easily. Unfortunately and surprisingly, you also guard your mind even under hypnosis. It's rather fascinating… and unusual."

"Like your name?" Samantha mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Samantha winced and pinched the bridge of her nose as a flood of pain hit her head. She was careful not to mess up the wires that were suctioned to her forehead. They were attached to a little machine that recorded her brainwaves. At least that's what Dr. Strange had told her.

Dr. Strange noticed Samantha's discomfort and paused from writing notes. "Mrs. Reads?"

Samantha moved her hand away from her face and looked at him. "Hm?"

"Do you often suffer from these headaches? I couldn't help but notice that this has occurred before."

"I, uh… yes. I get these headaches a lot," Samantha replied, absentmindedly.

"How often?"

"Almost every week or so."

Dr. Strange actually sat up a little straighter in his chair. "How severe are they? Mild?"

"No; anything _**but **_mild. Sometimes I stay in bed for hours, waiting for it to pass."

Dr. Strange jotted down a few notes and stroked his beard. "When did they start occurring?" he asked.

Samantha took a moment to think, trying to ignore the throbbing in her temples. "Um… about two years ago."

"When you were first kidnapped by the Joker?"

Samantha stopped herself from nodding and eyed the psychiatrist. Something in his tone didn't sit well with her. He'd sounded almost … eager. "Maybe," she answered.

Strange stared at Samantha with his piercing grey eyes and waited. When she said nothing, Strange sighed. "Has the pain increased over time or has it always been the same?"

"It started out as any normal headache; just a dull pain. But now…" Samantha shrugged and looked at her hands.

"I see," Strange breathed and thought for a moment. Samantha eyes happened to fall on her wrist watch and she groaned. "What's wrong?" Strange asked as he replaced his glasses on his nose.

"I have to cut this short and leave or I'm going to be late." Samantha began to remove the wires Strange had stuck to her forehead.

"What are you doing?" Strange asked in an almost panicky tone of voice.

"Were you not listening?" Samantha asked, hotly. "I. Have. To. Leave. Or. I'll. Be. Late."

"Late for what; if you don't mind my asking?"

Samantha shouldered her messenger bag and faced Dr. Strange with a quirked eyebrow. "Oh you're actually going to ask this time before invading my privacy? That's an improvement. Fact is, Dr. Strange, I do mind. I like my privacy, which is something you obviously fail to understand. I don't want you to know every little detail about me."

Dr. Strange pursed his lips before forcing a pleasant smile onto his mouth. "Until our next session, Mrs. Reads."

Samantha walked towards the door and paused with her hand on the knob. She looked at the doctor over her shoulder. "Dr. Strange, I meant business when I say that if you _ever _attempt to hypnotize me without my consent, I _will _report you. Is that clear?"

Dr. Strange took note of the hard edge in Samantha's voice. "Yes, Mrs. Reads." Samantha gave him a curt nod and walked out the door.

Dr. Strange shook his head as he opened Samantha's file to insert the notes he had taken. His eyes scanned over her information by habit and he stopped when it came to the date of Samantha's birth. September 9th, 1981. He looked up at his wall calendar to check the day's date. Today was Mrs. Reads' birthday.

**(Well, I hope that'll tide you over until I get the entire Chapter One finished. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think! Feel free to tell me what you think is going to happen. Also, I have a new poll out; Which of my stories do you enjoy the most?)**


	2. Chapter 1

**(*announces with trumpets* **

**It's here! The first chapter is here! Read on dear Readers! )**

Chapter One

Samantha, Alice and Harleen walked down the halls of their school, laughing at something Samantha had said. The loud clang of metal that came from around the corner brought their laughter to a sudden halt.

The girls slowed their pace to briefly look at each other before hurrying to the turn in the hall ahead of them. Samantha rounded the corner first and came to a sudden stop, making Alice and Harleen bump into her. Alice looked over her friend's shoulder and gasped.

Allan Jordan was being held up against the lockers by a big, muscular, body-builder, of a jock. The jock's hands were clenched around the front of Allan's red shirt. A look of pure hatred was on the jock's face, but Allan was grinning.

"You wanna say that to my face?" the jock hissed.

Allan sighed. "Really; you _want _me to repeat it?" he asked, nonchalant.

The jock slammed Allan against the lockers, hard, causing Allan to slightly wince. "You're nothing but a piece of sh-!"

Allan wagged a finger at the jock. "Ah-ta-ta-ta-ta-tah! Let's not swear. There are ladies present." He jerked his head in the girl's direction.

The jock turned to look, giving Allan the opportunity to make a move. He latched onto the side of the jock's head and butted him. The jock let go of Allan and moved his hands to the spot where their heads had made contact.

Allan maneuvered himself to be behind the jock and shoved him face first up against the lockers. He grabbed the jock's arm and twisted it behind his back.

Allan leaned to the side to look the jock in the eyes. "Now, uh, whaaat was that you were saying about me being nothing, hm?" he asked.

The jock let out a grunt as the lockers' combination knobs poked him in the chest.

"What? What was that?" Allan goaded.

"If those girls weren't around, I'd show you what I've got in store for you!"

"Oh don't use the girls as an excuse for your inability to hurt me. That's juuussss_**t-ah**_… pathetic."

Allan then twisted the jock's arm, making the athlete clench his teeth and squeeze his eyes shut. Allan grinned at the sight and twisted his arm a bit further. The jock opened his mouth in a silent yell and bared his teeth.

Harleen gave a nervous laugh. "Al, alright boys. Come on, that's enough," she said.

Allan ignored her and kept going.

Alice grew more and more upset. "Hey, Allan, please stop," she asked in a small voice.

This time the jock let out a scream of pain.

"Allan!"

Allan's head snapped in the direction of the voice to see Samantha staring straight at him. The look on her face was hard to read but her voice was telling him the obvious; 'stop!'

Allan eased up on the jock's arm as he kept eye contact with Samantha. He looked away to glance down at the jock and then returned his gaze to Samantha.

"Let him go…please," she asked in a calm voice.

Allan shoved the jock against the locker once more and released him. The jock slid to a slumped, sitting position on the floor.

Samantha stepped towards the jock, glancing warily at Allan, and found the athlete examining how much movement he could coax out of his arm. He looked up at her and frowned. "I didn't need your help," he told her.

"Just get out of here," Samantha spat back.

The jock gritted his teeth as he got to his feet. He shot a hateful glare at Allan and walked away. Allan turned to Samantha with a smug grin on his face. The expression disappeared when he saw the hard stare Samantha was giving him. "What?" he asked her.

"What is wrong with you?"

Allan quirked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You were going to break his arm-!"

"He was going to break _**me**_!"

"Out of anger! But _you_ …" Samantha paused and looked into Allan's eyes. They were practically glimmering with excitement! "…You were going to do it because you _wanted _to. Allan, I saw the look on your face; you were going to love it if you broke his arm, weren't you?"

Allan didn't answer. He gave the floor a split second glance before bringing his eyes back up to hers. But she knew. The answer was 'yes'.

"Allan… you need help."

Allan's entire body went rigid. His eyes flashed and turned into an engulfing shade of black. He snaked his tongue along his bottom lip and tapped his foot on the floor at a fast pace. His voice took on a strange, uneven tone. "I need help?" he repeated with a scoffing laugh. "There's something wrong with _**me**_? Let me ask ya something, Samantha…. What. Do. You. Know. About. Me? Hm? What does _**anyone **_know about me? Everyone is always saying that there's something wrong with me; but maybe there's something wrong with _**them**_!"

Samantha fought the urge to back away as Allan stared her down. "Okay, listen; maybe I was out of line. But Allan..."

"But Allan- what?" Allan suddenly reached out and seized Samantha by the wrist. His fingers painfully dug into her skin. "Come on, finish your sentence!"

Samantha clawed at Allan's hand to get him to release her. "Allan, let go! You're hurting me!"

Insane laughter filled the air, making the blood in Samantha's veins freeze. She looked up at Allan's face. In its place was her living nightmare. An ashen white face, blackened eye sockets, blood red lips, straight yellow teeth, and wild green hair. Two jagged scars, high-lighted in red paint, started from the corners of his mouth and curled up like a smile. Another scar, much smaller than the other two, went from his bottom lip and came down, stopping near the middle of his chin.

The nightmare grinned maliciously at Samantha and pulled her towards him. She looked back at Harleen and Alice. Harleen was laughing and her face was changing into a harlequin. Alice gasped at the change and turned to run, only to fall down, down, down, into a black hole.

Everything began to fade and was replaced by a dim room with no windows and no doors. Harleen and Alice were gone. Samantha was trapped inside the room with a monster!

The Joker let out another maniacal laugh and threw Samantha against one of the walls. She scrambled to stand up right and then felt the Joker's body pressing in on her. A knife appeared out of nowhere and was held to her throat.

"Let you go?" the Joker laughed. "Oh Samanthaaaa; I'll never let you go! You're just too much fun… and you're _**mine**_!"

A shot of agonizing heat wrapped itself around Samantha's left hand and she brought it up into view. The golden ring on her finger was glowing with a red hot hue. The Joker threw back his head and howled with laughter.

"All mine!"

….

Samantha jolted awake from her dream; a cold sweat broken out over her skin. She was breathing rapidly and her body was trembling. Her green eyes darted all over the room to see none of the images she had seen in her nightmare.

"Mrs. Reads? Are you alright?" a foreign voice asked.

Samantha turned her head to face the voice that had spoken to her. "_Do I __**look**__ alright?"_ she thought, angrily.

She sat up from the chaise lounge and glared at the man sitting nearby. "You told me you wouldn't do that again! I told you not to hypnotize me!"

Samantha's psychiatrist, Dr. Hugo Strange, sighed heavily and removed his glasses. "Mrs. Reads, as I have said before, the hypnosis is necessary. How can I treat you if I do not know what lies inside your mind?" he asked in his thick accent.

Samantha had been seeing the man for nearly five months and she still couldn't place his nationality.

It had been a year and five months since Samantha had been plunged into a living nightmare with the Joker and her nightmares had increased to her breaking point.

After putting it off for a year, Samantha had finally decided to take Dr. Arkham's advice and see Dr. Strange. She was told that Dr. Strange specialized in hypnosis and dreams, and she was becoming desperate for a good night's sleep. But so far, Samantha and Dr. Strange kept butting heads with one another. There had been a few other instances where the man had trampled on touchy areas and invaded her privacy.

Samantha swung her legs over the chair and let her feet touch the floor. She gripped the bottom of the chair, tightly. "You lied," she snapped.

"It was necessary."

Samantha scoffed. She was getting tired of all these 'necessary' liberties that Dr. Strange took. She knew psychiatrists were bound to keep the secrets of their patients and that they were meant to be helpful; but Dr. Strange didn't exactly seem to follow the same rules as others of his profession did.

"I've had it, Dr. Strange. I asked you to never hypnotize me again the first time you did it and you betrayed my trust."

"Mrs. Reads," he began. He always seemed to start his sentences by addressing her. "You are under great stress. Consciously, you refuse to enlighten me on the subjects that I question you about. You are too guarded. With you under hypnosis, your unconscious mind opens up and I am able to diagnose you easily. Unfortunately and surprisingly, you also guard your mind even under hypnosis. It's rather fascinating… and unusual."

"Like your name?" Samantha mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Samantha winced and pinched the bridge of her nose as a flood of pain hit her head. She was careful not to mess up the wires that were suctioned to her forehead. They were attached to a little machine that recorded her brainwaves. At least that's what Dr. Strange had told her.

Dr. Strange noticed Samantha's discomfort and paused from writing notes. "Mrs. Reads?"

Samantha moved her hand away from her face and looked at him. "Hm?"

"Do you often suffer from these headaches? I couldn't help but notice that this has occurred before."

"I, uh… yes. I get these headaches a lot," Samantha replied, absentmindedly.

"How often?"

"Almost every week or so."

Dr. Strange actually sat up a little straighter in his chair. "How severe are they? Mild?"

"No; anything _**but **_mild. Sometimes I stay in bed for hours, waiting for it to pass."

Dr. Strange jotted down a few notes and stroked his beard. "When did they start occurring?" he asked.

Samantha took a moment to think, trying to ignore the throbbing in her temples. "Um… about two years ago."

"When you were first kidnapped by the Joker?"

Samantha stopped herself from nodding and eyed the psychiatrist. Something in his tone didn't sit well with her. He'd sounded almost … eager.

"Maybe," she answered.

Strange stared at Samantha with his piercing grey eyes and waited. When she said nothing, Strange sighed. "Has the pain increased over time or has it always been the same?"

"It started out as any normal headache; just a dull pain. But now…" Samantha shrugged and looked at her hands.

"I see," Strange breathed and thought for a moment.

Samantha eyes happened to fall on her wrist watch and she groaned.

"What's wrong?" Strange asked as he replaced his glasses on his nose.

"I have to cut this short and leave or I'm going to be late."

Samantha began to remove the wires Strange had stuck to her forehead.

"What are you doing?" Strange asked in an almost panicky tone of voice.

"Were you not listening?" Samantha asked, hotly. "I. Have. To. Leave. Or. I'll. Be. Late."

"Late for what; if you don't mind my asking?"

Samantha shouldered her messenger bag and faced Dr. Strange with a quirked eyebrow. "Oh you're actually going to ask this time before invading my privacy? That's an improvement. Fact is, Dr. Strange, I do mind. I like my privacy, which is something you obviously fail to understand. I don't want you to know every little detail about me."

Dr. Strange pursed his lips before forcing a pleasant smile onto his mouth. "Until our next session, Mrs. Reads."

Samantha walked towards the door and paused with her hand on the knob. She looked at the doctor over her shoulder. "Dr. Strange, I meant business when I say that if you _ever _attempt to hypnotize me without my consent, I _will _report you. Is that clear?"

Dr. Strange took note of the hard edge in Samantha's voice. "Yes, Mrs. Reads."

Samantha gave him a curt nod and walked out the door.

Dr. Strange shook his head as he opened Samantha's file to insert the notes he had taken. His eyes scanned over her information by habit and he stopped when it came to the date of Samantha's birth.

September 9th, 1981.

He looked up at his wall calendar to check the day's date.

Today was Mrs. Reads' birthday.

…

Bruce Wayne was taking Samantha out to lunch for her birthday. She was really looking forward to it. She'd dressed in black slacks, a white, short-sleeved blouse, and a slim black suit jacket.

A few days after Samantha had lost her job and apartment, Bruce had called her and offered his services as a friend if she ever needed him. For the past year she and Bruce had developed a good friendship and went to many occasions together. Rumors had begun to swirl about them dating or being engaged. Whenever Bruce was asked if the rumors were true, he'd neither confirm nor deny them.

"_The jerk,"_ Samantha thought with a wry smile.

Samantha appreciated Bruce's company. She had always been one to give support to her friends and to others; it was nice to have someone to lean on.

What Samantha couldn't understand was why he was doing all this for her? It just didn't fit his playboy lifestyle.

During the first two months of her losing her apartment, Bruce had offered to buy her a penthouse! Of course, Samantha had refused. It wouldn't have felt right to her. Although, Alice probably wanted her apartment back since she now had a boyfriend, Billy. Who wanted to bring their boyfriend to the apartment they shared with a woman who received occasional calls from the commissioner, visits from Detective Yin, and the surprise drop in of Batman? Samantha was beginning to feel like an even bigger burden to her friend.

What was a real burden was the gold ring that encircled the fourth finger of her left hand; her wedding ring.

When she had lost her job at the hospital, Samantha had gotten a paying acting job in a small theatre. She'd only gotten the job by giving them a false name. She did that for a year until her real identity was discovered and the manager fired her due to 'budget cuts'.

Since then, for five months, Samantha had been searching for a job. No one wanted to hire 'The Joker's Wife.' The title sounded like vulgar words to her. The people who called her that certainly seemed to want it to have that effect. She tried her best to ignore it though.

Samantha rounded the street corner and felt herself smile when she saw Bruce Wayne leaning against the brick wall of the restaurant, waiting. He seemed to be deep in thought, staring hard at the pavement.

Samantha licked her lips and sauntered to his side. Bruce wasn't even aware of her presence. Mirroring Bruce's stance, Samantha leaned on the wall next to him. He still didn't notice.

"Must be something important," Samantha chuckled.

Bruce instantly snapped out of his reverie and looked at her. "Huh?"

Samantha pushed off the wall with her shoulders. "Whatever it was you were thinking about must have been pretty darn important. You were really out there," Samantha explained.

Bruce grinned. "Yeeeah; it's nothing. Sorry about that," he apologized.

Bruce pulled Samantha into a one armed hug and he didn't ease up until he felt her return the embrace. Pushing off the wall, Bruce kept his arm draped across Samantha's shoulders as they began to walk to the restaurant entrance.

"You know, three months ago you wouldn't have let me hug you," Bruce told her.

"Three months ago I wouldn't let anyone touch me," Samantha replied.

It was true. For a whole year Samantha had shied away from touch of any kind and flinched violently at sudden contact. Bruce knew it had to do with the Joker. He'd seen the way the clown had held Samantha at the charity ball and there was no doubt in his mind that the Joker probably intimately touched Samantha often.

Bruce wanted to help Samantha any way he could and some of the first steps he'd taken were to help Samantha readjust to physical contact. Now he could give her hugs without worrying Samantha would have a panic attack.

Bruce glanced behind them to see a large group of paparazzi snapping pictures of him and Samantha.

Bruce rolled his eyes. The paparazzi never learned.

The paparazzi ate up any opportunity to get photos of Bruce Wayne and the latest girl he was dating. But since Samantha had stuck around for so long as a friend, the media thought it was something more and followed them everywhere.

The fact that Bruce was hanging around the wife of the psychopathic clown brought on more attention and that did have some draw backs. Bruce never told Samantha about the two business deals he'd lost because of his association with her. He wasn't about to let Samantha go.

She was a friend. That was certain. He found her very easy to get along with and she made him laugh. He trusted her. Of course, there were other reasons why he constantly sought out her company.

Batman could only watch over Samantha at night, but as Bruce Wayne, he could watch her during the day as well.

She didn't know Bruce was the dark knight of Gotham. He made sure that she kept thinking he was a rich playboy. He wasn't about to slip up and have her discover his identity. Bruce could only imagine how that would affect Samantha. For now, things needed to be taken one step at a time. Maybe in time… maybe in time he'd tell her.

Bruce and Samantha entered the building leaving the photo-starved paparazzi outside. Bruce had made reservations ahead of time and the table was all set and ready for them.

Samantha couldn't help but smile as she gazed around her at the expensive decorations that adorned the restaurant. Bruce watched her take it all in and looked down at his menu when she turned to face him.

"Thank goodness you own half the city, Bruce, but if you continue to take every girl you date out to fancy places like this you're gonna end up spending more than you make."

"I don't own this place… yet."

Samantha chuckled and picked up her menu.

"Besides, it's your birthday. You deserve this."

Bruce saw the way Samantha's eyes flicked down to the table. She didn't think she deserved it.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about," Bruce started. He was interrupted by the waiter as he came to fill their drinks and take their orders. Bruce waited until the waiter left before he continued.

"I want to offer you a job."

Samantha paused, a grin still on her lips. It gradually turned into a small smile.

"What do you say?" Bruce asked.

Samantha glanced down at the table again and licked her lips. "I, uh… I can't do that, Bruce."

"Why not?"

"Because I feel like this is a pity offer."

Bruce chuckled. "It's not a pity offer."

Samantha dropped the smile and looked Bruce dead in the eyes. "Then what is it then? Because no one in their right mind would hire me."

"Why is that?" Bruce asked with a playboy smile.

"Don't play dumb, Bruce; we both know you're smarter than you act."

Bruce's smile turned to mysterious.

Samantha may not have known that he was Batman, but she defiantly suspected his playboy lifestyle was an act. She was smart and she wasn't buying his crap, and Bruce respected her for that.

Bruce leaned forward, elbows on the table and hands clasped. "Look, Samantha, I'm offering you the job of being my secretary because you need a job and I know you'd do your best."

"And what about when you lose more than two business deals because the companies find out I'm working for you?"

Bruce winced.

"How did you know?"

"Word gets around."

Yep. Samantha was smart. He should have known he wouldn't be able to hide that from her.

"Bruce, your company could suffer if you hire me."

"If some companies don't want to do business with me because they don't like who my secretary and _friend _is married to then I don't _want _to do business with them."

Samantha shook her head and resumed staring at the table. Bruce reached out and grasped his wine glass, wishing it was Samantha's hand he was grasping. If he could just reassure her. But now was not the time to touch her.

"I know that we're still getting to know each other, Samantha, but I'd like to consider you as a close friend… I don't have very many of those," he said sincerely.

He swirled his drink around in the glass and took a sip, watching Samantha over the rim. "Like you said, no one else is hiring you, but I'm offering. The job pays really well."

"Bruce, I really do appreciate the offer. I'm flattered that you think so highly of me. But I _can't _take the job. You'd be risking you entire company, your employees' lives, and your own."

Bruce set his drink down rather suddenly, a hard look in his eyes.

"I'm not going to let the Joker scare me," he said with disdain.

"Everyone close to me has suffered; I don't want to hurt anyone else."

"Then what are you going to do?" Bruce snapped. "Are you going to push away everyone, live a life of solitude and fear because you're afraid to take risks?"

"I've taken _too many _risks, Bruce! Which is why I can't even say 'hi' to someone without worrying that I'll put them in danger! I can't sleep because I'm afraid I'll wake up to _him _and Alice will have a knife at her throat! I can't try to date someone because I'm married to a homicidal freak but I still believe in being honest; and he might kill that person, or they might go insane like Edward!"

Samantha stopped once she realized she had been raising her voice. Glancing around with embarrassment, she lowered her head to collect herself.

Once she looked back up, she saw Bruce was staring at her with sympathy and pity in his brown eyes.

Samantha hated that look. She didn't want pity. She wanted people to understand.

But Bruce did understand. All too well.

He had seen the broken look on Samantha's face when she held Edward that night at The Glitz. It was the same look he had when his parents had been murdered in front of him; the same look when Rachel Dawes had been killed.

Samantha lowered her face again and stared at the white table cloth, ashamed of her outburst. She felt something moist in her eyes.

"_Oh no," _she thought and quickly swallowed the tears that threatened to spill.

If there was one thing she wouldn't tolerate, it was for anyone to see her cry.

The only people who she let see her cry was her parents, but they had died in that horrible car accident five years ago. Harley and Alice had probably only seen her cry at the funeral.

Bruce reached out and placed his hand over Samantha's and gave it a squeeze. She refused to meet his eyes, afraid he might see how close she was to breaking down.

"Samantha, I want to help you. I promise to protect you. Things are going to change for you, Samantha."

Samantha's brow furrowed at Bruce's words.

She could have sworn she heard someone say those exact words to her before but she kept hearing them in a rougher voice.

Samantha looked up from the table to face Bruce again.

He really did want her to take the job; she could see it.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Samantha sighed, defeated.

Bruce flashed her his perfect, white smile and raised his glass of wine. "A toast?' he suggested.

"Why not?" Samantha replied, lifting her glass as well.

"To your new job and the risks ahead; may they be speed bumps compared to the mountains you've already climbed."

Samantha laughed at his toast and they clinked their glasses together.

"You start work Monday."

Samantha smiled and inconspicuously glanced at her wrist watch. Bruce noticed and cocked his eyebrow.

"Somewhere you have to be?"

Samantha gave a little jump and her smile turned uneasy.

"Yes. I, uh… I have to see someone soon," she answered.

Bruce sighed and set down his drink. "Is it Edward?"

Samantha's green eyes lowered.

"Samantha, you know I don't judge you about visiting him; especially in his condition, but what I don't like is the fact that you're visiting him at Arkham where the Joker is also being held."

"I know, but I just can't stop seeing him; even if he doesn't know who I am."

"How is he?"

"He's still struggling."

"Has he remembered anything?"

"I don't think so. Nothing substantial that is."

"Are they still monitoring your visits with him so you can't tell him anything?"

"Not like they used to. I can sit alone with him, but there's guards stationed close by specifically for me and him. I think Dr. Arkham watches us too."

Old emotions of rage flared up within Samantha as she recalled the day Dr. Arkham gave her the order of silence.

It was the day she was going to visit Edward for the second time and Dr. Arkham had caught her before she went to meet Edward.

She remembered the worn out chair he had directed her to sit in, the claustrophobic feel of the room, the uneasy air Arkham gave off as he made his way to the desk that was nearly buried underneath paperwork and files.

She didn't remember how the conversation started, but she did remember the subject.

"You can't let him know. If you tell him, it might trigger his brain and he'll remember everything."

"But isn't that what we want?" Samantha asked, confused.

Arkham sighed and removed his glasses, holding them by the right ear stem. "Well… yes and no."

Samantha cocked her head to the side, waiting for him to continue.

"You see… we are… going to attempt to reconstruct Edward's memories; keep the good, remove the bad. For example. Remove everything he did as the Riddler."

Samantha blinked and leaned forward in her chair. There was a pressure developing in her chest.

"So you're saying … that you're _brain washing _him? You're going to _delete _memories of his life!" she shouted with disgust.

Dr. Arkham rushed back into the conversation to justify himself. "No, Mrs. Reads, no! Just his criminal activity."

"It won't be just his criminal acts! It will be moments that lead up to him becoming the Riddler. Ideas, days, people; moments that will be erased. A person's memory is not like an attic of boxes that you can pick and choose what to keep and get rid of, it is a whole chain of events linked together! You'll destroy his life!"

"You don't understand. We'll be giving him the opportunity to start over; a second chance. I've had him tested with several puzzles, riddles, and other complicated contraptions and the results were startling. Only one other patient has shown an equal intelligence like Edward's."

"Who?"

Arkham hesitated before he answered. "Your husband, the Joker."

A throbbing pain began to build up in Samantha's temples and she gently massaged the area with her left hand.

Arkham picked up two folders from his desk and opened them. Inside was the information of the Joker and Edward Nigma. Arkham picked up the file to his left.

"The Joker's intelligence is surprising for a man like him. He's mentally unstable and yet that only seems to _increase _his intelligence and creativeness; he's highly imaginative and able to think beyond the normal. It's how he's able to escape from his cell so easily and create weapons out of the simplest objects. His intelligence level is dangerously high. It's a shame he uses it only for destruction. I've had several psychiatrists analyze him and they all tell me the same thing… there's no hope in curing him."

Arkham sighed and dropped the file onto his desk and picked up the other folder.

"Edward on the other hand, can be saved, Mrs. Reads. He's quick to solve situation problems, like the Joker, _but _Edward does not concentrate on the same ideas as the Joker does. The problems Edward solves are political, war strategies, wealth distribution, and …" Arkham chuckled, "his favorite; riddles. He's a marvelous builder of mechanical objects and his knowledge of technology seems to know no bounds. Those skills can be used for a greater purpose."

"So instead of hm creating weapons he could use against Gotham, you'd rather he created weapons for war purposes that could destroy the lives of millions; only it would be _'legal' _in the government's eyes," Samantha bit back in a chilling tone.

Arkham sighed and shook his head. "You just don't understand. We can use his intelligence to help save this city."

"_That's where you're wrong, doctor; this city can never be saved," _Samantha thought to herself.

"It will be better this way, for Gotham and for Edward, if you never speak to him about your past relationship with him."

Samantha had argued with him for hours until she realized it was useless to change his mind.

They only saw Edward for his brain, not as a human being.

Samantha remembered walking out of the office with a Hell-like rage building within her, but she did as the doctor said and never breathed a word to Edward about how they knew each other.

….

A hand suddenly waved itself in front of Samantha's face and she started out of her reverie.

"You still there?" Bruce asked, amused.

Samantha offered him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, my mind was somewhere else."

"Obviously."

Their food had been brought out to them and they were nearly finished eating.

Bruce looked at Samantha a bit more closely.

"Have you been getting any sleep?"

He saw her flinch at the question.

"Have you been having nightmares again?"

The look she gave him confirmed what he suspected.

"Samantha, has Dr. Strange been helping you at all?"

Samantha snorted and swallowed her drink before answering bitterly. "Doctor Strange… ha! The man's only giving me more headaches by hypnotizing me without my permission."

"He's doing what?"

"Hypnotizing me without my permission."

Bruce felt his anger well up and tried to simmer down. Batman would definitely paying the doctor a visit later on.

"You should go home and rest."

Samantha rose from the table and Bruce followed the motion.

"Thank you, but I can't. I have to go see Edward. I always see Edward on Thursdays."

Samantha stepped away and Bruce caught her by the hand. "Right after then. Please get some rest."

Samantha smiled at him and touched the top of Bruce's hand. "I will; I promise."

"Good."

He squeezed her hand before releasing.

"Thanks for the lunch."

"Happy birthday."

Bruce watched Samantha leave and sighed as he slumped back into his seat. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

Why did terrible things have to happen to people like Samantha? She was someone who just wanted to do some good and she was very nearly ripped apart because of it.

In a way, Samantha reminded Bruce of Batman. The way she stood so firmly in her beliefs was admirable and there was no doubt as to the sincerity of Samantha's concern over the safety of her friends.

More than once, Bruce wished he had gotten to know her better when they were in high school.

For Samantha's benefit, he had become acquainted with Alice Fredricks and paid close attention to her in case the Joker tried to use Alice as a way to get to Samantha but nothing had happened to raise any suspicions over the year. Bruce wasn't about to let his guard down though.

For Samantha's sake, he wasn't about to do that.

**(I must thank everyone for sticking with this series so far! It makes me soooo uberly happy and I still can't believe how well received this has been! I wish I could shake each of you by the hand! **

**Joker: "Keep talking like that and you'll freak them out."**

**Me: "You're still here?"**

**Joker: "I never left!"**

**Me: "Gah!"**

**Please leave a review!)**


	3. Chapter 2

**(Me: "Holy Crap you guys! So many favs and alerts and reviews on the first chapter alone! I just- I can't-."  
Joker: Oh stop blubbering and introduce the next chapter already.  
Me: No! I have to thank a few reviewers who have stuck with this series since the very beginning!  
Joker: But that will take too long!  
Me: Shut up! *shoves the Joker out of the way*  
"I want to thank ****madness is me**** who was the very first person to review 'An Agent of Chaos' and has stuck by the story; ****my sovereign soul****, ****imalionrawr10****, ****NeverShoutRawr****, ****ForeverisGone13****, ****SideshowJazz1****, ****Mary H. Less****, and so many other wonderful, wonderful people! **

Chapter Two

Edward Nigma lay on his back in the uncomfortable contraption the doctors called a bed, and stared at the drab ceiling above him. It was basically all he could do in Arkham Asylum. His therapist was working on getting Edward more privileges because of his good behavior. Until then, all he had to look forward to was Rec time and Samantha's visits.

At the thought of Samantha, Edward felt the corners of his mouth twitch upward. Her visits always brought him some form of amusement and peace. He really did enjoy the time they spent together.

Every time she came he would try to figure out how he knew her. She was a mystery to solve; a riddle.

Edward gave a chuckle at the idea. Why did he have such a fixation with riddles and puzzles? He turned his head slightly to the left to glance at the crossword puzzle and Sudoku books that his psychiatrist, Dr. John Kendal, had given him. Half of them were finished and they had seemed pretty easy to him. Kendal said he'd try to find some harder puzzles next time.

Edward faced the ceiling again and moved his eyes to look out the glass door/wall of his cell.

What had he done to be placed here? Locked up like an animal in a glass cage. No one would give him a clear answer, not even Dr. Kendal.

A sudden twitch came over Edward's right hand as it lay atop his stomach. He eyed it curiously when it twitched again. He reached out towards his nightstand and grabbed his pen; holding it tight in his hand. He hoped having something to hold would stop the unwanted spasm, but it didn't.

The overwhelming urge to draw something came so quickly that Edward didn't even know what had brought it up. He didn't have and blank paper. Wait… he was already drawing… but what was he drawing on? What was he drawing? What was he _doing_?

Edward dragged his mind back to consciousness and looked at what he'd done. He had used the pen to scratch question marks into the wall. There were about seven of them, really small, not very noticeable; unless someone came into his cell and stood near his bed.

Panic gripped Edward. If anyone saw this, it would be bad!

Edward hastily grabbed his pillow and propped it up to cover the portion of wall that had question marks adorning it.

"Nigma!"

Edward flinched away from his pillow as if he received the touch of a lightning bolt. "Yes?" he yelped.

He turned his head in the direction of the glass door, expecting to see a guard who had caught Edward in the act of concealing his deed. Instead, he saw no one. The guard appeared a few seconds after calling out and peered in at Edward. Another guard was at his side.

"Visitor to see you," the first one announced.

Edward stood to his feet as the two guards entered his cell. He didn't wait for them to give any instructions; he had them memorized.

Stand up, face the wall, hands on top of your head, legs spread apart, remain still and do not move until your hands and feet have been restrained.

The guards led Edward to the Visitors Area where the patients who were more stable could be in the same room with other patients or visitors. The ones who were critically unstable received their visitors in a small room with no windows except for the one on the door, or had them separated from their guests by a glass wall with only a phone to talk to them.

The guards brought Edward into the room and unfastened his restraints after showing him where to sit, as always. And as always, every Thursday for the past year, Samantha Reads was the one sitting in the opposite chair. Why didn't they just say, "Samantha's here to see you"?

Edward grinned broadly at her as he sat down in the empty chair reserved for him.

"Well don't you look lovely?" he said playfully, crossing his legs at the ankle and leaning back in his seat.

He folded his arms over his chest and took in Samantha's appearance. She looked lovely as always, but she also looked very tired.

"Hello Edward," she greeted, warmly.

Edward's ears buzzed at the sound of his name coming from Samantha's lips.

"You seem to be dressed rather nice today," he commented. "Special occasion?"

"I had dinner with a friend at a fancy restaurant."

"Celebrating something?"

Samantha hesitated to answer. Surely it couldn't hurt to tell him what today was to her. After all, it didn't pertain to him.

"It's my birthday."

Edward grinned and cocked his head to the side. "Oh really?" He instantly filed that piece of information away into his mental file cabinet about Samantha. Another clue.

"And how was it?" Edward asked.

"It was nice."

"Well, surely the celebrating doesn't end there?"

"I have no other plans."

Edward put a hand to his chin. "Hmm. That just won't do at all." He gave her a sly grin and wiggled his eyebrows. Samantha chuckled and shook her head at him.

"It just so happens, Samantha, that I made something for you in Crafts a few days ago. I was going to give it to you today but now that I know it's your birthday…," his grin turned to a mischievous one, "it just made things a whole lot better."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and interlocking his fingers to form a bridge. He gazed at Samantha with a child-like glee that made his golden-brown eyes shine.

"Here's the deal; I'll give you my little gift, if you solve some riddles for me."

Samantha rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Edward always had her solve some riddles during her visits.

"Deal."

…

Outside of the Visitors Area, Dr. Jeremiah Arkham watched Samantha and Edward through the observation window. He'd done it many times before. Every Thursday he would make sure to watch how the two interacted with each other.

He couldn't help but wonder what it was about Samantha that attracted the attentions of not one, but _two _mad men; the Joker and the Riddler. Not only the two mad men, but it also seemed –if the tabloids were right- that multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne had become ensnared in Samantha Reads' charm. It was something more than her obvious beauty.

If it wasn't for the fact he had an asylum to run, Dr. Arkham would have been the one to be Samantha's psychiatrist. Instead, he had gotten Dr. Hugo Strange to fill the position and made him promise to share Samantha's session information with him. It was unethical, but it wasn't the first time something of the like had happened in the asylum of in Gotham City.

The sound of someone quickly approaching from behind made Arkham twist his head around to see who was coming. An orderlie came to his side and looked nervous as they whispered in his ear. Dr. Arkham lifted his eyes from the floor and looked at Edward when the orderlie told him the news.

…

Samantha laughed out loud and Edward tried to speak while he laughed along with her. "Okay, ha ha ha! I dare you to get this right!" he joked.

"Bring it on."

"Alright, you asked for it. Riddle me this; 'What hisses and drinks milk?'"

Samantha pretended to think hard. "Is it a cow?"

They both chuckled.

"Actually, there can be two answers to that riddle," Edward told her.

"Really?" Samantha asked with a tilt of her head.

"Yes. Can you guess what they are?"

"All I can think of is a cat."

The moment she said it, her mind went to the full-grown cat she owned that Edward himself had named; Little Riddle. … Was it possible that maybe he … could he have just a shadow of a memory? What made him give her that riddle?

"Yes, a cat… and a snake."

"Well, that's new to me. Got another riddle?"

Edward interlocked his fingers and popped the knuckles. Samantha experienced a flash back of their first date when he displayed the habit.

"Are you ready?"

Samantha shook herself out of the memory and smiled at him. "Yes."

"Listen to this one carefully… 'It is precious, worth more than gold. It can be earned, but not bought or sold. It doesn't start at life and it doesn't end at death. Sometimes it's the one thing you have left. What is it?'"

Samantha bit down on her bottom lip, thoughtfully. Edward watched as she mentally picked at the clues, searching for the answer. When her green eyes widened ever so slightly, he knew she had figured it out.

"Is it 'friendship'?"

"Bravo!" Edward applauded. "You're rather good at this."

"Thanks. Sooo…" Samantha gave him a comical, expectant smile. "Do I get my gift now?"

Edward looked over at the guard watching them. Nigma had already cleared it with him that he was going to give Samantha a small token. The guard nodded to show that Edward was allowed to bring it out without suspicion.

The puzzle solver grinned and reached for some thin string that he had constructed into a sorrow excuse for a necklace. But it wasn't the string he was going to give her. It was what was hanging on the string. Since he had no pockets, Edward had to think of another why to hide his gift from Samantha.

Edward easily broke the flimsy string –a loose strand he had pulled from his uniform- and revealed a ring hanging on the thread. Samantha gasped softly when she saw it.

It was a little, silver circlet with a faux, green gem in the center.

It wasn't magnificent, but it had been made painstakingly by Edward by using the left over materials of a mechanical test the doctors had made him take. Of course, he'd had to ask special permission. And it turned out that being a mental patient on his best behavior had its rewards, because he was granted permission.

Edward hesitantly reached out, palm up, waiting for Samantha to place her hand in his. Touching was a rarity between them due to all the strict precautions.

There was little hesitancy from Samantha when she put her left hand in Edward's palm. Flesh bumps popped up all over Edward's skin at the physical contact.

He moved to place the jewelry on her ring finger and paused. His eyes were fixed on the golden ring that was currently residing there.

Edward sighed inwardly and felt his shoulders droop. Sometimes he forgot that Samantha belonged to someone else.

When Samantha had first started visiting him, he liked to pretend that she was his… It was a dangerous little game; one that he caught himself getting carried away with constantly. He kept having to remind himself that Samantha was not his wife. She belonged to another.

But why did she come to visit him? How did they know each other?

"_Who are you Samantha Reads?"_

Samantha noticed Edward was staring mournfully at her wedding ring. "You could put it on my middle finger," she suggested, awkwardly.

At the sound of her voice, Edward came around from his thoughts and blinked at her, processing what it was Samantha had said. He slowly slipped the ring onto her middle finger; his gaze flicking back to the golden one next to it.

"He's a lucky man to have found someone like you," he whispered.

Samantha didn't know how to respond.

"How long have the two of you been married; if you don't mind my asking?"

"A little over a year."

Edward noticed that she didn't say that bit of news with the joyful glee he assumed most newly wedded brides had. He also noticed that he was still holding Samantha's hand.

Reluctantly, Edward removed his hold on Samantha's hand. She brought it up to her face to inspect it closer. "It's beautiful, Edward."

Edward gave her a smile.

There was some movement from behind Samantha and Edward looked up to see Dr. Arkham smiling politely at them.

"I'm sorry, but this visit's going to have to be cut short today," he apologized.

Edward gave him a curious look but couldn't read the man's expression.

"I'll escort Mrs. Samantha out," the doctor offered and waited for Samantha to rise from her seat.

Both she and Edward exchanged a questioning glance at one another.

"Good-bye Samantha… and happy birthday," Edward said, standing to his feet.

Dr. Arkham's eyebrows lifted ever so slightly at Edward's best birthday wish to Samantha. Samantha had a feeling the 'good doctor' was going to bring it up on the walk to the entrance.

Samantha smiled at Edward. "Bye Edward; see you next Thursday."

"Until then," Edward sing-songed.

Samantha turned and followed and followed Arkham out of the room.

Three orderlies came up to Edward with grave looks on their faces.

"if you would come with us, Mr. Edward," one of them said.

Edward took a moment to look them each in the eye before slowly nodding. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew what this was about.

….

"Do you mind my asking why my visit had to be cut short, Dr. Arkham?" Samantha asked as they walked down the hall together.

"I'm afraid you can't, Mrs. Samantha. It's rather confidential. But since your visit was cut short perhaps I could lengthen the next visit?"

"Thank you."

"Now if you don't mind _my _asking; why did you tell Edward it was your birthday?"

Samantha lazily shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't see the harm."

Before the doctor could open his mouth to respond, Samantha asked him another question.

"Am I the only person Edward sees or has conversations with? You know, besides Dr. Kendal? Does he have anyone that he socializes with during Rec. Time?"

Dr. Arkham almost chuckled at her many questions. "He's alright when it comes to socializing. Granted he doesn't exactly seek out companionship like a desperate soul, but I can't recall him being chummy with any other patient. Although, Mr. Nigma has become a bit of a ladies man among the female staff.' Arkham did chuckle this time.

Samantha quirked an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"Oh not the flirting type, but the perfect gentleman. His manners are practically from the Victorian era. Then combine that with his good looks and memory loss and he's easily becomes a favorite among the ladies of the asylum."

Samantha had to chuckle at the news herself. Edward's manners were what won him that first date with her.

"That's Edward," she said, fondly.

Unknowingly, Samantha ran her tongue along her bottom lip. This action brought up another patient in Dr. Arkham's mind. He let out a hesitant sigh before bringing up the subject.

"The Joker... has mentioned you every now and then." He saw Samantha stiffen. "He once asked to see you, but of course we flat out refused."

"When?"

"What?"

"When did he ask for me?"

"March the ninth. He said it was-."

"Our anniversary," Samantha said, softly. She began to unconsciously fiddle with her wedding ring.

"How long has it been since you've seen him?"

"A year, five months, one week, and two days. And I've spent all that time trying to piece my life back to together since he came and destroyed it.

Dr. Arkham winced at the bitter tone in Samantha's voice. "I'm sorry to have brought it up," he apologized.

Samantha nodded her acceptance and they continued to walk in silence until Dr. Arkham wished her good-bye at the door.

….

Edward gazed down at his hands, picking at the skin around his cuticles. Dr. Kendal sat on the opposite side of the table, staring at his patient. Edward didn't need to look up to know he was staring, he could feel the doctor's eyes on him.

"Edward?" Kendal said, trying to draw his attention.

"Hm?" Edward mumbled, still not looking up.

"Edward… they told me about what happened in your room."

Edward continued giving the table his attention, but quirked his right eyebrow. "Oh did they?" he asked in an uncaring tone.

Kendal sighed through his nose and rest his left elbow on top of the table. He held his pen in his left hand and would fiddle with it every now and then. "Why question marks?" he asked.

"…I don't know."

"Edward, those marks are going to hurt your chances of more privileges. It could set them back a good ways from where I've been working to put them." Kendal saw Edward blink in response. "It's not like you had an aggressive outbreak in your behavior or did something that most of the other patients would have done. Edward, you are… unlike the others in the sense of your mental health. Basically, you're sane; the only reason you're here is because of what you did in the past."

"And that would be?" Edward asked in a calm voice. He lifted his eyes up from the table to look at Kendal.

The doctor clasped his hands together and placed them in front of him on the table. "you know I'm not at liberty to discuss that," he told him.

Edward smirked and let his eyes trial back down to the table. "Worth a try," he said. A beat of silence passed.

"What can bring back the dead; make us cry, make us laugh, make us young; born in an instant yet lasts a life time?"

Dr. Kendal gave a patient smile. "I don't know; what is it, Edward?"

Edward's brow furrowed and his eyes grew sad. "…Memories," he murmured.

**(Me: "Sometimes I think I'm too mean to my characters… but it makes a GREAT story! :D Anywho, I know that the Joker wasn't in this chapter, but don't worry-,"  
Joker: "I'll be in the next one!"  
Me: -_- "Yes… Yes you will."  
Joker: :D  
Me: -_-  
Joker: : P  
Me: -_-  
Joker: …. You know you love meeeee!  
Me: *sigh* "Unfortunately, yes. Yes I do."  
Joker: And as Skies normally says, 'Please leave a review' … or I will hunt you down…  
Me: *face palm* **


	4. Chapter 3

**(Dear Readers! The Dark Knight Rises was a complete EPIC WIN! And I have discovered one of the most perfect songs for Bruce Wayne's thoughts about Samantha! It's called 'Lullaby' by Nickelback! And the song that fits Samantha nearly to a T is 'Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)' by Kelly Clarkson. Does anybody out there have any song suggestions?  
Does anyone think that Paul Bettany would make a good Dr. Arkham? Cause he's the one I keep seeing in my mind every time I write him.)**

Chapter Three

One year, five months, one week, and two days. That's how long it had been since he'd been literally thrown into Arkham. One year, five months, one week, and two days since he'd seen _her. _One year, five months, one week, and two days since he'd had a decent night's sleep. He never suspected that his little act of holding Samantha at night would back fire. It was meant to make sure she wouldn't escape and to make her uneasy but he'd unknowingly become accustomed to feeling her body against his own and now he had trouble sleeping.

One year, five months, one week, and two days…. They had been married for a year now. And did the authorities of Arkham let him see his wife on their anniversary? No! How cold was that? Married for a year and they still hadn't, uh… _consummated _their marriage.

Today was another special day. It was Samantha's birthday.

A grin formed on the Joker's scarred lips as he lay on his back in bed, staring at the ceiling. He had a little gift waiting for Samantha when she returned to the apartment she was sharing with Alice Fredricks. How did he know this? He liked to be kept informed and he had his ways of doing it.

One year, five months, one week, and two days was a lot of time to think. A dangerous thing if it was the Joker doing the thinking. Who knew what his sick mind would devise? But the people of Arkham couldn't really stop him from thinking, now could they?

It was surprising though, how often his thoughts would turn to Samantha. He actually found himself _craving_ for her company. She amused and fascinated him to no end. It was soooo … boring in Arkham. He could use a little … excitement.

The Joker sighed and lifted himself off the bed. A guard was sitting in a chair near the entrance of the hall, reading a newspaper. To be more specific, it was the Joker's newspaper. He always had to wait on the guard to finish reading whatever bits he wanted and then it would be given over to the Joker. But for crying out loud! Did it take everyone that long to read the funnies section?!

The Joker stepped towards the glass wall of his cell and leaned on it with his right arm lifted over his head, pressed against the surface. He wrapped the knuckles of his left hand on the glass to get the guard's attention.

"Hey, buddy. I know your, uh, IQ is probably embarrassing to mention, but don't you think you could speed it along and hand me that newspaper already, hm?"

The guard thought about throwing an insult back, but thought better of it. The Joker was rumored to be able to escape his cell and roam about the asylum and return to the cell without anyone knowing. The guard harrumphed and folded the paper in half, got up from the chair, and walked over to the Joker's cell with a scowl on his face.

"Finished already? My, my, what a fast readerrrr," the Joker teased.

The guard unlocked the small delivery slot in the door that was used to deliver meals, and slid the paper through the opening. He slammed it shut and locked the cover door, turning on his heel and stalking back to his seat. Next time he'd bring a book.

The Joker stifled a snicker as he swiped the paper off the floor and headed back to his bed. He flung himself onto the thin mattress and settled on his back, opening the paper to the front page.

**District Attorney Janet Van Dorn Launches Campaign Against Batman!** The front page read.

The Joker didn't hide the chuckle he let out. _"Batsy's list of allies is growing even smaller," _he thought. He read through the story and turned the page to continue when a picture caught his attention.

It was a snap shot of Samantha- _**his**_ Samantha- being helped out of a snazzy looking car by Multi-Billionaire Bruce Wayne.

The Joker's eyes were drawn to the caption above the picture. "**Has Playboy Billionaire Found Love At Last?" **It went on to say that the two had been seen several times together and that the relationship had lasted longer than the many other girls Bruce had dated.

"**I can assure you Samantha Reads is a friend and that is all. I mean, come on, she's a married woman," Bruce told reporters. **

"Yeah, married to me, you putz," the Joker muttered under his breath.

**When asked by reporters about being married to the psychotic criminal, The Joker, Samantha Reads gave no comment. **

The Joker read on, forgetting the story on Batman. The more he read, the more irritated he became. So some rich boy was moving in on his _wife! _What was the point in marriages if people didn't respect the fact that a wedding ring meant that person was off limits? Samantha was _**his**_! She wasn't to be shared with anyone!

The Joker growled and threw the newspaper to the floor.

"_People these days. You can't expect anyone to follow the rules." _

Now more than ever he wanted Samantha. He wanted to show her she belonged to him. He'd get it through her head and everybody else's that Samantha Reads belonged to no one but the Joker! She didn't even belong to herself! Her body, her soul, her mind, her everything belonged to him and him alone! _**No one**_ could have her!

* * *

The Batpod zoomed through back streets and alleys to avoid any detection by the police. Janet Van Dorn was not making it any easier for Batman.

Batman contacted Alfred on his earpiece. "Alfred, look up any information you can find on a Doctor Hugo Strange. Past employment, studies, the works."

"As you wish, Master Wayne."

There was silence on the communicator as Alfred typed away on the computer in the Bunker. The only sounds heard was the Batpod's tires squealing on the pavement as Batman headed for Arkham Asylum.

"Uh, sir?"

"Yes, Alfred?"

"Where are you heading at this moment?"

"Strange's office."

"Which one, sir?"

Batman slowed his vehicle down at the question.

"He has more than one?"

"He has two. One at Arkham Asylum and one on Langer Street. He treats regular citizens at the one in Langer."

"Then that's the one he'd treat Samantha at."

Batman immediately changed directions. Getting to Langer Street would be a little more risky than going to Arkham which was located in the Narrows. He'd have to take extra precautions.

"Got anything, Alfred?"

"Hugo Strange; abandoned as a child, raised in an orphanage on the lower East Side of Gotham and grew up in state homes," Alfred summarized from what was showing on the computer screen.

"That's not far from Crime Alley," Batman noted, soberly.

"Strange showed a high level of intelligence throughout his school years. It says here though, that he had a couple of mishaps with other students and was noted to have a temper. He somehow managed to put himself through college and medical school. He became professor of Psychiatry at Gotham State University, but had his tenure suspended due to his increasingly bizarre theories in hypnosis and genetic engineering. He was later hired by Dr. Jeremiah Arkham at the asylum and then was given permission to establish a small office in the city to treat non-committed patients."

Batman drove past a homeless person warming themselves by a barrel fire.

"Dr. Strange's tenure suspension would have been brought up if he was trying to get back into psychiatry," he said.

"It would have made it very difficult to secure a job in that field. I'm reading some of his material on the subject of hypnosis and the board was well within their right to suspend him."

"So why would Arkham hire Strange?"

"Perhaps you'll be paying both doctors a visit?"

"I'll be late getting home, Alfred."

"I'm not surprised."

* * *

Getting into Dr. Strange's office was easy. Finding what he was looking for was a bit difficult. He didn't know where to start really. Find Samantha Read's file? That seemed as good a place as any to start.

Batman left the lights of the office off and produced a small light of his own as he scanned the filing cabinets for patients' files. Opening the one labeled as such, he began to flick through the Rs until he found Samantha's. Samantha would have to forgive him for invading her privacy but he knew something wasn't right about Dr. Strange.

He skipped Samantha's personal information and paused when he came to the notes Dr. Strange had written. It was odd.

"_Dream Link experiment 1: failed. Guards herself too well. Hypnosis will have to be performed."_

"_Dream Link experiment 2: failed. Expressed dislike of the use of hypnosis. Opportunities will need to be taken. Consider administering the serum." _

"Dream Link?" Batman muttered. There was an entry written down earlier that day.

"_Dream Link experiment 3: failed. Patient has threatened to discontinue sessions if experiment is attempted again."_

Batman remembered that Samantha had Dr. Strange recommended to her by Dr. Arkham. He would definitely be paying him a visit and get down to the bottom of this. Batman poked around the office a little longer and then came upon something that changed everything.

Locked up in one of Strange's desk drawers, was a folder that contained information on Jonathan Crane and his fear toxin.

Batman clicked on his ear piece. "Alfred, search for any possible links between Hugo Strange and Jonathan Crane."

"Found one. Both taught as professors at Gotham University at one point before Crane decided to become a full-time psychologist."

"See if you can find out whether either of them met socially," Batman said, flipping through the pages in the folder. He had a really sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"There's a report here about an incident between them. Dr. Hugo Strange was heard shouting at Crane, calling him a thief and that he was stealing his research. Strange became so angered that he began to resort to physical violence against Crane. Two instructors had to hold Strange back. Coincidentally, Crane resigned from the University four months later at the end of that year and started working at Arkham."

"Was anything else brought up about what Strange meant by Crane being a thief?"

"I can't seem to find any, sir."

Batman turned to the third to last page and froze. "I think I have an idea what it was."

Batman's eyes ran over the figures and formula signs that were written on the page. Crane had been creating his fear toxin, basing it off of a serum that Hugo Strange was making. Strange was suspended because of some theories involving genetic engineering.

Serum….

Batman quickly went back to Samantha's folder and opened it back to the Dream Link notes.

"_Dream Link experiment 2: failed. Expressed dislike of the use of hypnosis. Opportunities will need to be taken. Consider administering the serum." _

_**Administering the serum….**_

What if Strange had injected the serum into Samantha?

"Alfred, I'm going to Samantha's, then to Arkham."

* * *

"Come back here, Riddle!"

Samantha hurried around a corner on the staircase and skidded to a stop to avoid colliding with a wall.

"Riddle!"

The feline would not be still for a moment. Samantha had uttered the dreaded word and he wasn't going to go down without a struggle.

"Riddle, get over here! You are way overdue for your bath!"

The cat changed directions once he had reached the bottom of the stairs and headed for the kitchen.

"Alice, he's heading your way!"

"I got him!"

_**Thump!**_

"Never mind!"

Samantha nearly stepped on Little Riddle when the cat darted out of the kitchen door way. She peeked around the doorframe to see Alice splayed out on the kitchen floor.

"The little terror tricked me into making a home base slide," Alice mumbled.

Samantha burst out laughing until the sound of a loud meow meet her ears. Both women hurried out of the kitchen and followed the sound of the frantic meowing to Alice's upstairs bedroom. Little Riddle was pawing at the window pane, as if he were crying out for help to anyone outside.

"Got'cha," Samantha said.

Little Riddle jumped from the window and sprinted in between Samantha's legs, heading back down towards living room.

"Whoa!"

"He really doesn't like baths," Alice giggled.

"What cat would?"

Alice and Samantha turned to pursue Riddle and made it as far as the hall when the cat suddenly ran back towards them and leapt into Samantha's arms. Alice and Samantha exchanged looks and stared at the feline.

"Well that was weird," Alice said.

"He's finally seen reason," Samantha joked, heading towards the living room to pick up the towels she'd dropped on the floor while chasing Riddle.

"No; he's seen me."

Little Riddle hissed and jumped from Samantha's arms, scrambling up the steps into Alice's room. Alice gasped at the sudden appearance of Batman standing in the middle of her apartment. Samantha merely blinked and gave a backward glance in the direction her cat had taken off.

"Congratulations, Batman. I believe you scared my cat into losing one of his nine lives." She pretended to applaud and moved to the sofa, plopping down onto its cushions. "How'd you get in this time?"

Batman looked like he was about to reply when Samantha stopped him.

"Wait, wait, wait; let me guess. _Not _the door."

"The wide window," Batman replied, indicating the scenic window that dominated the back wall of the living room.

"Very stylish entrance, I must say," Samantha teased. He didn't even move his mouth out of the firm line he always seemed to wear.

Awhile back Samantha had decided to amuse herself whenever Batman came to check up on her. She decided to try making him smile. Just to see if it could be done. So far no success.

"You truly are the straight man."

Batman made no reply. He flicked his dark eyes at Alice.

"Oh… uh, right," Alice stuttered. "Um… I'll just give Little Riddle a bath for you, Samantha, and leave you two to talk."

"Thanks Alice."

Alice went to her room, the one Riddle had taken shelter in. "Riddle! Get down from the curtain rod!"

Once they were alone, Batman stepped closer to Samantha's seat and withdrew his gauntleted hand from beneath his black cape. In his hand he held a deep red rose, the edges of the petals tinged with a purple hue, and tied to its thornless stem was a royal purple ribbon. A small, cream white card was attached to the ribbon.

"It says, 'I bet you thought I wouldn't remember your birthday; J'."

Samantha's face had lost all trace of amusement. "Where did you get that?"

"It was on the doorstep."

Samantha stared at the rose with undisguised dread.

"He's still in Arkham," Batman assured her.

"But-," Samantha started, her eyes going from Batman to the rose and back.

"He must have people on the outside assisting him. But the Joker himself is still locked up."

Samantha took a deep breath and let it out as a shaky sigh. "Oh geez," she whispered, burying her face in her hands. Her ring caught Batman's eye.

"Have you tried to get the marriage annulled?"

Samantha's head jerked up and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you think I've already thought of that?" she snapped. "I've been to nearly every judge and legal document specialists in Gotham and _no one _will annul the marriage! They're scared to do it! They're afraid he's going to come after the one who annuls it and they're right!" Samantha put a hand over her mouth to silence any further words from coming. Batman was trying to help her; there was no need to attack him.

Batman remained silent as Samantha fought to control her anger. She slowly removed her hand from her mouth and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh geez, Batman. I'm going out of my mind," she finally muttered.

_Speaking of her mind…._

"Let me see your arms," Batman said.

Samantha looked up at him with a cocked eyebrow. "Huh? Why do you need to see my arms? If you're worried about my gunshot wound it's fine. Just a scar."

"I need to look at your arms for evidence of needles pricks."

"I don't do drugs, Batman!"

Batman reached out and took hold of Samantha's hands, turning them to wear the inside was facing up.

"Well this is just plain insulting," Samantha muttered.

Batman was about to release her when the sight of a faded bruise near right wrist caught his eye. He pointed it out to Samantha.

"Where did you get this bruise?"

"What bruise-?" Samantha wrinkled her brow when she saw it. "I don't know." She looked closer and noticed the tiny prick in her skin. "Is that…?"

"The entry point of a needle. Dr. Strange had been injecting you with a serum when he puts you under hypnosis."

Samantha blinked at Batman in shock but her surprise soon turned to anger. "That son of a-!"

"I suggest you cancel all further appointments with him. There's too much going on to risk using you as a bait for Strange and Arkham."

Batman turned to go but Samantha jumped to her feet. "Arkham's involved in this?"

Batman slightly turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. "Not just Arkham… Dr. Crane as well."

"And I thought I didn't like Dr. Arkham because of the way he's treating Edward."

"What?" He knew about the rules… but this was the first time Samantha alluded to how Edward was being treated.

"You might want to start paying attention to how the patients are being treated once they're put in Arkham Asylum. Edward's practically being brain washed so he can be used for their own purpose."

"_Strange's serum… it showed the potential to control minds…" _If they used the serum on a mind a brilliant as Edward Nigma's…..

Samantha sat back down on the couch. "Do you think the Joker will get out again?" she asked.

Batman couldn't lie to her. It would hurt her more if he did. "He's done it before."

Samantha said nothing, just nodded and looked at the floor.

"If you find anything else that's suspicious or if the Joker tries to contact you, use this." He handed her a small communicator that resembled a cellphone. "It'll dial directly to me."

Samantha took the device and ran her thumb along its smooth surface. "Thanks," she said, looking at it. "Don't worry, I won't run up your phone bill…" Samantha looked up to see Batman had vanished. She exhaled through her nose. "I can see how that gets annoying."

…

**(Allllright! That's the end of that chapter.  
Joker: "But I was barely in it!"  
Me: Oh suck it up, you prima donna.  
Joker: "Hey, I have a right to be a freakin' prima donna! I'm the one the audience loves."  
Me: You're full of it.**

**Anyway, I'm sorry that this chapter is shorter than the ones I normally write, but like I've stated before, this story is much more difficult to write than my other Chaos series because I've got more than one plot line going on in here… I think there might be like, four or three plots entangled in this story. I don't go for simple. The Joker is never simple I'm asking you to be patient with me on the updates because this story is still developing in my mind. A college student doesn't have a lot of time to write down story ideas and type it up. I'll try to get the ball rolling as often as possible but from the looks of things my updates may be once a month. Keep checking back though… I might surprise you. ;)**

**I'm so psyched that I've gotten soooo many reviews and I've only got two chapters up so far! Please leave me a review! I love you all! *blows a kiss*)**


	5. Chapter 4

**(Hello my dear Readers! It's been awhile, I know, but I've finally gotten this chapter down! Please don't hate me since it's short! I tried to keep it as unconfusing as possible but if there are still questions please don't' hesitate to message me and I will answer.)**

Chapter Four

Dr. Arkham fished his keys from his pants pocket and singled out the one for his car. Just as his hand extended out towards the car lock, a sudden force propelled him away, knocking hm against the neighboring vehicle. Arkham barely had a chance to lift his head up and see who his attacker was. Two strong hands gripped him by the shirt and jerked hm to his feet, slamming Arkham against the car.

"Why do you have so many questionable people working for you, Arkham?"

Arkham gasped and looked at the Dark Knight with wide eyes.

"I, I don't!"

"Dr. Crane and Dr. Strange both had bad records that would have put them out of the psychiatry field for good, yet you hired them."

Dr. Arkham swallowed and tried to steady his breathing. A year ago he wouldn't have been so terrified if he was being questioned by Batman, but that was before Batman had murdered Harvey Dent.

"They are both highly decorated for their knowledge and I hired them because they are the best at what they do."

"You mean they aren't afraid to cross lines if they have to?" Batman growled. "Why did you offer Dr. Strange as Samantha Read's psychiatrist?"

"I knew he could help her move on-."

Batman cut him off by slamming Arkham against the car again.

"That's a lie!"

"I'm not lying!"

The Dark Knight pulled Arkham off the car and turned around towards the doctor's own vehicle. He threw Arkham onto the trunk and pinned him there. Arkham gave a strangled cry as his back crashed against the metal hood of his trunk.

"You knew Strange's past at the University! Why did you recommend him to her?"

"Strange, he-he-he-," the doctor stuttered, gasping for breath.

"Why!"

"She knows more than she's telling!" Dr. Arkham screamed.

Batman paused and waited for him to elaborate.

"Samantha Reads," Arkham began, gulping down some air, "knows far more about the Joker than she's admitting to." He coughed and Batman allowed him to sit up from the trunk. "Surely you've wondered about it too? How _the Joker _could suddenly become so … for lack of a better word, _attached _to a girl he met only once at a bank robbery and ends up haunting her and forcing her to marry him. There's more to it than that."

"How is Strange involved in this?"

Batman released Arkham and the man slid off the car and wearily leaned his lanky frame against the back passenger door.

"Professor Strange has told me how he can get almost any kind of information out of patients while they're in a state of hypnosis. I thought that if we could find out what Reads' is hiding then we could unlock the key to how the Joker operates."

Arkham finally looked Batman in the eye. "Their lives are far more entwined than we're led to believe."

The atmosphere was tense as Batman stared at Dr. Arkham in silence, going over everything the doctor had said. The doctor had noticed the same thing Batman had about Samantha; that she knew more than what she was saying. Bruce Wayne had been aware of it over a year ago and now he'd been presented with further proof that this was indeed the case. Samantha Reads was hiding something.

Batman took a step towards Arkham and the man nearly jumped over his car in fright.

"Stay away from Samantha Reads. If I find out that Dr. Strange is still trying to communicate with her, I will make sure you regret it. Do you understand?"

Dr. Arkham slowly nodded.

"I need to speak with Jonathan Crane," Batman said, turning towards the asylum and beginning to walk.

"But you can't-," Arkham began.

Batman faced him. "Can't what?" he growled.

"…Can't get to him without my help," Arkham nervously finished, changing his sentence.

…...

Crane was pushed into the dark room, uncuffed, and still slightly drowsy from being woken up in the middle of a restful sleep. The guards hadn't provided any explanation, just grabbed him and forced Crane to walk with them to an empty therapy room. Dr. Arkham was standing just outside the door.

Crane's eyes began to adjust to the poorly lit room and could make out the shape of the table in the center. He placed his hand on it and eased into the chair, waiting.

"Do you have an appointment?" he asked. Batman's masked face suddenly appeared from the darkest corner and he moved to the table. "I knew you had to be behind the disruption of my sleep."

"Don't expect me to apologize."

Crane smirked and slightly shook his head. "I didn't."

"I need answers from you concerning Hugo Strange's serum."

Crane gave a breathless laugh. "Ah; Hugo Strange. Yes, I remember him."

"How did you find a way to change Strange's serum into your Fear Toxin?"

Crane's face showed the slightest hint of surprise. "Now how did you connect those two?" he asked, mildly.

"Strange has papers with the formula to your Fear Toxin."

Crane's shockingly blue eyes grew cold. "So he took them," he muttered.

"Strange is using his serum on a patient. I need to know more about it."

"Ah, and because I was able to change his serum into something else, you think I know all about it and you won't have to alert the Hot-Headed Doctor that you're on to him. Is that it?"

Batman leaned intimidatingly forward, narrowing his eyes at Crane. "I need answers."

"Why don't you ask the good old professor himself? I'm sure he'd love to meet you," Crane replied, never breaking eye contact.

Batman didn't show it but he felt a chill run down his spine as Crane gazed at him with his icy blue eyes.

"You said Strange is testing the serum on a patient. Who is it?"

Batman withdrew a photo of Samantha and set it down in front of Crane. "Her name is-."

"Samantha Reads. Yes, she's quite famous now, isn't she?" Crane said, his eyes scanning every detail of Samantha's appearance.

"I'm still at a loss as to how the Joker was able to capture someone like her. You can tell just by looking at her eyes she's a fighter."

"Does Dream Link mean anything to you?"

Crane's gaze lifted from Samantha's photo and rested on the Dark Knight. "One of Strange's theories. How using the serum could lower a person's unconscious defenses to the point that even their most hidden secrets could be discovered. The serum is designed to control a subject's mind. The last time I checked Strange's serum was only able to control a subject for a short period of time, not even an hour long. He was still working on it. Once it's administered, the subject could be put under hypnosis and by way of suggestion and commands, be completely under the hypnotist's power for as long as the serum lasts. With that serum, you could uncover the darkest secrets from anyone. Dream Link is an experiment Hugo was developing that involved using a person's dreams to reveal their secrets."

"But how could he use their dreams if he can't see them?"

"Strange tried to have the patients talk to him while they were hypnotized but it didn't work most of the time. Around the time he was suspended, he tried to get someone to help him build a machine to show the dream images people projected. I never found out if he succeeded.

"_Strange wants to uncover Samantha's connection to the Joker by using her dreams,"_ Batman thought to himself.

Crane's eyes flicked back down to Samantha's picture and remained there. He reached out, extending his index finger, and pinned the corner of the photo. He dragged it closer to him and studied Samantha's face. Batman's attention remained fixed on Crane's facial expressions as he tried to guess what the man was thinking.

"She has very lovely eyes," Crane commented, fingering the edge of the photograph. "I'm willing to bet that they look even lovelier when she's scared."

Batman growled and snatched the picture away. Crane was unfazed.

"No doubt Strange wants to know the connection between her and the Joker by using very illegal means. But good luck on trying to find evidence to use against him." Crane's face produced a smug grin. "As we speak, Dr. Arkham has probably alerted Dr. Strange to your interest in Samantha Reads' therapy sessions."

Batman immediately moved from the table to the door, opening it wide and grabbing Dr. Arkham by the arm. He pulled the man inside and slammed the door shut. Arkham's right hand was gripping a cell phone.

Batman wrenched the phone from Arkham and looked to see it was still connecting. He put the phone on speaker. "Strange!"

"… Hello Batman."

The Dark Knight tossed a glare at Jonathan Crane's smug demeanor.

"Strange, if you try to run, know this; there is no dark corner in the world you can in hide to escape from me. I will find you and I will bring you back to pay for what you've done to Samantha Reads."

"Actually, I was just telling Dr. Arkham that I have no intention of leaving Gotham. I find myself more and more fascinated with Mrs. Reads. The Joker, The Riddler, Harley Quinn, and you, Dark Knight. Each one of you are connected to her. And you seem to be more incensed that I have administered the serum in Samantha than the fact that I used it on many test subjects before her. How interesting that she sticks out to you. Is it because of who she's married to? Or is it something more?"

Dr. Strange gave a dry chuckle and sighed into the phone.

"Don't bother looking for me at my offices, Batman. I won't be showing up there anymore. You'll just have to live with the fact that I'm somewhere in this city and I have no intention of stopping my research on Samantha Reads."

There was a click as the call was disconnected.

Batman growled and pinned Dr. Arkham against the wall. "Do you know what you've done?" he hissed.

Arkham only choked as Batman's forearm pressed against his throat.

"Did Strange tell you anything? Where he was going? Anything?"

Batman eased up on the pressure to let Arkham speak.

"No! Nothing! I was only able to tell him he was caught and needed to leave."

"You are a sick, twisted, scum, Dr. Arkham."

"It seems to be the qualities needed to run this establishment," Crane remarked.

"He won't be running this place anymore," Batman snarled.

Arkham's face turned pale at Batman's words. "This place has been in my family for years!"

"Not anymore."

Batman knocked Arkham out and restrained his hands with a set of cuffs. He let the doctor slump to the floor and turned to leave.

"And another good doctor joins the mad house," Crane said, watching Batman walk out the door and lock it behind him.

Batman clicked on his communicator and relayed a message to GCPD. Arkham Asylum would be under new management before the week was out.

Crane sat in his chair, staring at the door. His eyes drifted to the floor that was illuminated by the light from the window and saw a thin, rectangular shape resting there. He stood to his feet and kneeled to pick it up. He turned it over and discovered it was the picture of Samantha Reads. Batman had dropped it.

Crane walked back to his seat and sat down, staring at Samantha's photo. So much trouble over this woman.

"Very lovely eyes indeed."

There was a moan from Arkham as he came to and discovered where he was. His eyes widened in terror when he saw Crane was still in the room with him. Crane smirked at the doctor.

"Well, Arkham, how does it feel to be a part on the family?"

**(I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I would really appreciate a review! The next chapter will be longer, I promise.)**

**Joker: "And again, I wasn't in this chapter."  
Me: "Stop being such a limelight hog! I'm not in any of the Chaos series!"  
Joker: "That sucks."  
Me: "Yeah, it does. So quit your complaining."  
Joker: "… But STIIIIIIIIIIILL!"  
Me: "Shut up, Joker!"**


	6. Chapter 5

**(I'm back! Sorry about the extremely long wait! For realz, I feel like I'm neglecting a pet every time a long amount of time goes by that I don't update.  
The songs I used in this chapter is; 'I Want You' by Savage Garden, 'She Drives Me Crazy,' by Fine Young Cannibals, and 'If I Could Turn Back Time' by Cher. I suggest listening to the music 'Emma and Henry' composed by Mark Isham (from the **_**Once Upon A Time**_** soundtrack) after you switch back to the present.)**

Chapter Five

April 8, 1997

The bedroom was filled with the laughter of three teenage girls who were experiencing the state of shock all seniors go through when they realize they have less than two months until they graduate. Among the sounds of giggles, there was also a radio playing, providing the girls with music.

"_**Ooh I want you  
I don't know if I need you  
But ooh I'd die to find out  
Ooh I want you  
I don't know if I need you  
But ooh I'd die to find out…"**_

"Are you sure you want to go to a different college, Harley?" Alice asked, rolling onto her stomach from her previous position on Samantha's bed. Harley was sitting cross-legged on the floor and Samantha was sitting in her desk chair.

"Yeah. I mean, after all, my parents are payin' for my education and they really want me to go there."

"Well, we're going to miss you, Harleen."

"I'll miss you guys too."

"Speaking of missing…," Samantha hesitated a moment before going on. "Have any of you seen Allan lately?"

"Nope. Why do you ask?" Harley tilted her head to the side as she stared at Samantha.

Samantha bit her bottom lip and glanced at her feet. "I haven't seen him since prom."

"That was on the 2nd. He's been gone for six days?"

"We have all our classes together and he hasn't been to a single one."

Harley gave a sly grin. "Why Samantha, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were worried about him."

"I am; I won't deny it. That night at prom we…," Samantha stopped herself before she said, 'kissed'. "We…"

"Youuuuu …. What?" Harley prodded.

"I kinda blew up at him. And now he's gone."

Alice's brow puckered with sympathy for the guilt she saw written on Samantha's face. "Maybe he's got the bug?"

Samantha gave Alice a grateful smile, but it was obvious she didn't believe it. "I said some things to him that … I _never _should have said no matter how annoying I think he is."

Harley lifted her eyebrows. "Wow. I know you've got a guilty conscious but this must have been really bad."

"It was." Samantha sighed and ran a hand over her face. "I can't stop thinking about the look on his face." That blank look he had. It didn't look heartbroken or angry, it was just so… empty.

Alice and Harley instantly sat up, completely alert. "Tell us what happened," Alice urged.

Samantha shook her head. "I said some really bad things and I wish I could take it all back. But every time he's around me I just…" Samantha tried to think of what it was she felt but there just wasn't a perfect explanation. "He drives me crazy."

Harley's sly grin was back and she inched closer to her friend. "Crazy as in warm fuzzy feelings and butterflies in the stomach ooooor…?"

"Crazy as in driving me up the walls and making me want to scream."

"Oh," Harley pouted, clearly let down that a romance wasn't budding that she could stick her nose in. Suddenly she perked up and broke into song.

"_**She drives me crazy!  
Oh! Oh!  
Like no one else!  
She drives me crazy  
And I can't live without her!"**_

She burst into giggles and smiled at Samantha. "Except in your case you'd change the lyrics from 'She' to 'He' and …" She noticed no one else was laughing and let her words drift off. An awkward silence over-ruled the room, making the music seem much louder than the low volume Samantha had set the radio to.

"_**Anytime I need to see your face  
I just close my eyes  
And I am taken to a place where  
Your crystal mind and  
Magenta feelings take up shelter  
In the base of my spine  
Sweet like a chic a cherry cola**_

I don't need to try and explain  
I just hold on tight  
And if it happens again I might move  
So slightly  
To the arms and the lips and the face  
Of the human cannonball  
That I need to, I want to

_**Ooh I want you  
I don't know if I need you  
But ooh I'd die to find out  
Ooh I want you  
I don't know if I need you  
But ooh I'd die to find out…"**_

"I don't think he's going to come back."

"Sammy, it couldn't be your fault if he never came back to school."

"Harleen, you weren't there. I was _horrible_ to him."

Harley knitted her brows together and gave Samantha a perplexed look. "You?"

Samantha nodded. "I didn't just yell at him. I slapped him."

Alice's jaw dropped and her light blue eyes blinked in surprise. "Samantha!" she gasped.

"Was he trying to do somethin' to ya? That snake! Wait till I get my hands on 'im!"

"Harley! He wasn't trying to do _that_."

"He wasn't?"

"No."

"He didn't take your V-Card?"

"No," Samantha repeated, a bit irritated that she was having to assure Harley over and over that her honor had not been damaged.

"Then what made you slap him?"

"He was just … being Allan. And I lost my cool."

The song ended on the radio and the DJ announced the next song, which Samantha didn't catch because she wasn't paying attention. "I just wish I could take it all back."

"_**If I could turn back time  
If I could find a way  
I'd take back those words that hurt you  
and you'd stay**_

_**I don't know why I did the things I did  
I don't know why I said the things I said  
Pride's like a knife it can cut deep inside  
Words are like weapons they wound sometimes."**_

Samantha fixed her radio with a glare. "Shut up, Cher!"

Harley and Alice couldn't help but collapse laughing. Samantha let herself smile. "Funny how right she is though," Harley giggled.

Samantha sighed. "Great; I'm getting advice from Cher."

Harley gave Samantha's knee a playful slap. "Don't worry, Sammy. Allan will come back. He can't stay away from you for too long. You dumped milk on the guy and he still tried to get a date out of you."

Samantha gently kicked her friend in the side at the tease. "You have to keep reminding me about that?" she groaned.

"She's right. Allan's really attached to you. Whatever it was you said to him…" Alice shrugged, causing her pale blond hair to bunch up with the motion, "he'll come back."

Harley nodded. "Yep. Guys like him always come back. Especially when you least expect them to."

…..

September 9th, 2010

11:45 pm

Samantha blinked and dragged herself out of memories from years past and focused on the present. What had caused her to think about that memory in the first place? The music from her radio caught her attention. Cher's song of regret was playing.

"_**If I could turn back time  
If I could find a way  
I'd take back those words that hurt you  
And you'd stay  
If I could reach the stars  
I'd give them all to you  
Then you'd love me, love me  
Like you used to do**_

If I could turn back time…"

That's what had triggered the memory. Samantha got up from her bed and crossed to the shelf holding the radio, switching it off. She couldn't sleep. How could she? How could she even try to close her eyes after the news that Batman had told her. Was everyone trying to mess with her mind?

She felt an invisible pull on her body, coming from the small jewelry box she had on the dresser. She obeyed the pull and walked towards it. She knew what was inside the box. Buried underneath a few bracelets, rings and necklaces was a small, rectangular, cardboard box not even three inches big.

Samantha caught sight of her reflection in the dresser mirror. The shadows in her room made the shadows around her eyes more noticeable. Alice had been worrying over her when Batman left and asked if she'd been sleeping. Samantha just brushed off the question.

She looked at the jewelry box again and slowly opened its lid. Shuffling some jewelry aside, she uncovered the little cardboard box and removed it from the larger container. Even more slowly than with the other box, Samantha lifted the lid and gazed at the item nestled inside. An amethyst jewel with a silver chain.

Samantha let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Just the sight of it made her shiver. She kept it separated from the others because an incident that had occurred a little over four months ago. Samantha had put the necklace on. She couldn't even understand why she'd done it, but one day she found herself wearing it. Alice saw it and her eyes had gone wide with recognition. "Isn't that the-?"

Samantha instantly removed the necklace and returned it to the confines of her jewelry box. How it even came to be in her jewelry box was still confusing. The only explanation she could think of was that when she had returned home on the night of The Glitz's Charity Ball after she and Alice had been rescued, Samantha must have been so tired that she just put the necklace in her box out of habit like she did with all her jewelry. She always meant to get rid of it. But something always stopped her.

Samantha rubbed her finger over the smooth surface of the stone. Such a beautiful gift from a deadly man.

Samantha's cellphone rang, startling her. She glanced at the clock. 12:01am. Who could be calling her at this hour? She held onto the necklace as she crawled back onto her bed and grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand. "Hello?"

A loud, dramatic sigh was heard on the other end and then, "Iiii didn't think I'd miss your voice _this _much." A small giggle worked its way out of the speaker.

Samantha nearly dropped her phone in shock. "…Joker?"

"_Hiiiiii,_ _sweetieee_!" he sing-songed.

"H,h how? How are you calling me? You're in Arkham."

"No thanks to the Batman," he replied with a dark tone. "But that's not important," there was a slight pause and Samantha could just picture him licking his lips, "The important thing right now is that _it's your birthday._" He giggled gleefully. "Did, uh, did you get my gift?"

"Yeah," Samantha answered, her eyes darting around in search of the phone Batman had given her. "Yeah, I did."

"Did you like it?"

"Joker, why are you calling me?"

"Did you like the ro_sssse-z_ah?" the Joker growled.

Samantha closed her eyes. For now, she'd have to play his game. "…Yes."

"Goood. I went through a lot of trouble to get that to you."

"I'm flattered," Samantha dead-panned.

"Hmmm. Sure sounds quiet on your end. I thought I'd catch you celebrating-ah. Having a night on the town with your friends?"

Samantha's temper flared. "Being married to you hasn't exactly had a positive effect on my popularity."

"Ooh I'm sure you still have a few friends. Let's see… there's, uh, there'ssss Alice… _Bruce Waynnnne…_"

Samantha caught the hidden meaning in his voice. She kept her voice calm as she tightened her grip on the phone. "Joker, I don't know what you've heard about Bruce and me, but I can assure you _he's just a friend._" Samantha's nerves were raw as she lstened to the Joker's breathing on the oter line, waiting for his reply. Where was that phone Batman gave her?!

"We'll see," the Joker answered.

"Joker," Samantha said, hastily.

"Mh-hm?" He sounded so casual.

She needed to keep him on the phone as long as possible. She just couldn't seem to locate that dead gum device! She needed to say something to get him talking.

"That night at prom when I said all those things to you…"

There was a heavy silence on the other end. She wondered if he had hung up.

"What about it?" came the reply.

Of all the things for her to bring up, it was this?! Wait- was that the phone over there? Samantha caught a glimpse of its sleek surface on the floor between her nightstand and bed.

"Did you stop going to school because of what I said?"

The silence that met her ears was even heavier than the last. She couldn't even hear him breathing. Samantha strained her ears for any sounds of the Joker as she knelt down and picked up the device.

"…Joker?"

"Yes and no."

Samantha's thumb hovered over the dial button. The Joker's answer had caused her to pause. "What does that mean?"

"Have you spent all this time wondering-ah if you're the reason I turned into what I am?"

Samantha wasn't quite sure she wanted to know the answer. What if she was? What if there had been something only she could have done to have prevented Allan Jordan from becoming the Joker?

Samantha swallowed the lump in her throat and hit the dial button on the device. "Am I?"

"It wasn't . Just. Youuuu. Other things_s-uh _came u_p-ah_."

A punch had been thrown in her gut. It wasn't _just_ her? Meaning that he found her partially to blame. Samantha heard her voice tremble as she asked. "Like what?"

The Joker started laughing. "Listen, Samantha; I'd looove to keep talking but I can tell when someone's trying to cover up the fact that they're tracing a call."

"Joker, wait!"

"Happy birthday, Esmeralda." *click*

**(Dun-dun-dun-duuuun! That's where this chapter is going to have to leave off for the time being. I've got a new job now that doesn't have such a demanding schedule so the good news is that I'm gonna have more time to work on my stories! *cheers***

**Joker: Finally, I've been dying from neglect here!**

**My Purple Skies: You're a fictional character; you can't die.**

**Joker: *keels over and collapses on the floor***

**My Purple Skies: O.O Omigosh! Joker, Joker, Joker! Speak to me! Don't die! What can I do? Is there anything I can do? I'll do anything!**

**Joker: *suddenly grabs Skies by the shirt and pulls her close* Then get back to work on my story! **

**My Purple Skies: You butt-head. **

**Anyways, let's have some reviews! I love some feedback, tips, advice, guesses at whats to come, etc. They're like the nutella to my bread! Much love!) … Aw, great, now I want some nutella…. Hey Joker! Make me a nutella sandwich! **


	7. Chapter 6

**(I shamelessly listened to Nickelback's song 'Lullaby' on repeat during this first half of the chapter! I also found another song for Samantha and the Joker; 'Name' by Goo Goo Dolls. Please excuse any sucky parts to the last bit of this chapter. I was falling asleep but didn't want to stop writing. )**

Chapter Six

September 10th  
12:10 am

Samantha was calmly sitting on the couch when she felt Batman's presence. "I'm sorry. I couldn't get him to stay on the phone long enough," she apologized without looking at him.

"What did he want?"

Samantha gave what sounded like a tired laugh. "To wish me a happy birthday."

There was silence and then… "Samantha… I need you to be honest. How do you know the Joker?"

Samantha turned to face him; an "Are you kidding me?" look was speaking loudly through her facial features. "Where have you been? I've told you already. We met at the bank robbery and I stupidly thought that I could make him turn the bus around and hold him there until the police came and-."

"That's not what I'm asking."

Samantha's lips slowly closed and she moistened them with her tongue. "What … _exactly _are you asking me?"

"There's more to it, Samantha. You're not telling me everything."

"I've told you the truth!" she shouted then brought her voice back down, remembering Alice was sleeping. "I've told you everything."

"No. You're holding something vital back. A man like the Joker doesn't just suddenly form an attachment. What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything."

"You're eyes say differently." Batman couldn't recall ever seeing such expressive eyes before meeting Samantha. It was like her entire being, her entire soul was in her eyes. It's what made them remarkable. It was the first thing anyone noticed about Samantha. Even Jonathan Crane had seen it. For Samantha the expression, 'The eyes are the windows to the soul,' was true. When you looked into her eyes, you saw her soul and right now Batman could see the turmoil that was raging inside.

Samantha shook her head and stood up from the couch. She took three steps away and paused.

"Samantha…"

She didn't respond. Her back continued to face him.

"Samantha… I can't protect you if I don't know the whole story."

"It's not _me _I'm worried about if I tell… I could put others in danger in I tell. I haven't even told them they're involved."

"You might be helping them by telling me. Please."

Samantha was silent, staring out the window. With a final nod, she turned back around to face him. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes but she wouldn't let them. She took a deep breath. "I knew the Joker before the bank robbery," she finally admitted. It felt like chains were falling away, letting her breathe again.

"How far back?"

She bit her lip. "My senior year in high-school."

He had expected her to say a week before, a month, maybe even a year- but _that_ far back… "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I didn't know he was the Joker until after I had jumped on the bus. He called me something that only he could have known."

"But once you escaped from him, why didn't you tell the police?"

"Oh I wanted to. At first I didn't cause I was afraid of dirty cops in the system. But then I talked myself into telling but not without proof. The cops already didn't believe me so I did my own research on the Joker. I tried to look up any records on Allan Jordan. Nothing; absolutely nothing. No birth records, no address, no phone number. The only proof I had that I didn't imagine him was his picture in the high-school year book. He had told me that it was a fake name he used. You got to wonder what kind of a person he was to be using a fake identity at that age."

"You had the year book picture; that's proof enough. Why didn't you go to the police?"

"I realized how foolish it would be if I did. I am the only person who knows that the Joker is that same boy I knew in high-school. I'm the only link to his past that he has to worry about. But Harley and Alice knew him back then as someone else and if I told them that he grew up to be the Joker, that puts their lives at risk and I can't guarantee that he'll keep them alive like he has with me. To him they're nothing but bargaining chips to keep me in line. Knowing the Joker's secret is _my _burden, not theirs."

Batman was speechless. All this time she had kept this secret and at such a heavy price. He never realized that they were so similar. Both had dark secrets they were hiding to protect the ones they cared for.

"That name the Joker called you… what was it?"

"…Esmeralda." She slowly sat back down on the couch. "Maybe if I hadn't acknowledged him about it than maybe all of this wouldn't have happened?"

"Then you'd be dead."

The look she gave him was shattering. "Maybe it would have been for the best," she whispered.

"Samantha," Batman growled. "You may have experienced terrible things in your life, but you have also saved others because of you and you did that without wearing a mask."

Samantha attempted a light laugh. "Are you calling me a hero?" She received a silent nod from the masked vigilante. She took a moment to soak that in. "I never even considered the things I've done as heroic." Mostly because she seemed to bring misery to everyone around her. "Hey Batman…. do I get a cape too?"

Batman felt a surge of relief at her question. He didn't answer though. He knelt in front of Samantha and looked her in the eyes. "Tell me everything. Tell me about the first time you met the Joker."

Samantha nodded and exhaled, half closing her eyes. "It was the first day of my senior year. The principal assigned me as Allan's school guide. There was something about hm that scared me the very moment we met… there was something about his eyes…."

….

It was nearly four in the morning when Bruce finally crawled into bed. But he didn't go to sleep. He wanted to, he was aching for sleep; but Samantha's story was swirling in his head. Batman had asked to see the photo of Allan Jordan in the year book and Samantha showed him. Looking at the small photo of the young Clown Prince of Crime, Batman tried to remember if he had ever seen him, if he had ever passed him in the halls, ever spoke to him, but nothing came to mind. He was just a face among hundreds in a year book. When Samantha had gotten to the last night she had seen the Joker-Allan Jordan- and that she had let him kiss her, Samantha dropped her gaze from Batman's as if she were ashamed.

Bruce changed from lying on his back to lying on his right side, hugging the pillow close to his head. He had wanted to hold Samantha close on more than one occasion while she told Batman her story but he refrained from doing so. That was something Bruce would do, not Batman. The things she told him that happened between her and Allan were a variety of things. There were some funny stories and then there were stories that justified her fear of him.

"_There was this one time when I saw the Joker in him… I just didn't realize that's who I was seeing at the time. Harley, Alice and I were going to see a movie and Allan showed up. I don't know how he did it but he always managed to find me…" _

There was a slight knock at the bedroom door frame. Bruce sat up to see Alfred standing politely within the doorway. "Alfred… why aren't you in bed?"

"I'm afraid your insomnia is starting to infect me," the old butler said smiling. He walked into the room to Bruce's bed as the billionaire swung his legs around to dangle off the edge. He ran his hands through his dark, disheveled hair.

"She told me, Alfred."

"The Held Back part, sir?"

"Yes. She knew him as a teenager."

"…Good lord," Alfred breathed.

"It's bigger than I thought; so much bigger. Arkham was right; their lives are _entwined_. Even from the very beginning. " Bruce drew in a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. "It seems that Arkham Asylum needs to be watched more carefully," he sighed, changing the subject. His eyes were burning, begging to close. "I'll call the asylum tomorrow and have a meeting with the Assistant Director, Miss Alyce Sinner. She'll be made Head of Arkham now that Jeremiah's been committed. The asylum's in bad need of funds…" he suppressed a yawn, "She won't turn down meeting with me. I'll be able to keep tabs on the things that go on in there."

"Why the sudden interest in the asylum, sir?"

"Samantha mentioned things they were doing to Nigma that …" Again he felt a yawn coming and fought it. "It didn't sound right." This time he couldn't hold back the yawn.

"You won't be much good if you're asleep during that meeting, Master Bruce."

"Hm? Wha'd ya say, Alfred?"

"Good night, Master Bruce."

"'Night, Alfred."

Bruce finally went to sleep and he dreamed of the things Samantha told him about her and a teenager called Allan Jordan.

….

"_There was this one time when I saw the Joker in him… I just didn't realize that's who I was seeing at the time. Harley, Alice and I were going to see a movie and Allan showed up. I don't know how he did it but he always managed to find me…" _

December 21st 1996

"I heard it's got a lot of language in it," Alice said, hugging herself to keep warm as she, Samantha, and Harleen walked along the sidewalk to the movie theatre. It was the middle of December and nearing the end of a cold afternoon. Alice's light blue jacket provided her with some warmth but it didn't entirely block out Gotham's chill.

"Yep; and blood and gore," Harley chirped, playfully skipping two steps ahead of her friends. She kept her bare hands stuffed inside the pockets of her red gymnastics jacket.

Samantha adjusted her white scarf to fit snuggly around her neck. "Alice, we don't have to go see this movie," Samantha told her. "We can go see something else."

"Yeah, we don't have to see Shriek."

"It's _Scream_, Harley. The movie's called _Scream_."

"Oh yeah. Oops."

They made it to the front entrance of the theatre and stopped. Samantha motioned towards the movie posters. "We could go see _Romeo and Juliet_," she offered. A teasing grin appeared on her face and she nudged Alice. "It's got Leonardo DiCaprio in iiiiit," she sing-songed. "He plays Romeooooo."

Alice blushed bright pink. The poor girl tried to duck her head so they wouldn't see but it was too late. Samantha chuckled. "Yeah. Too bad he dies at the end."

"Sammy! Spoiler!" Harley nipped.

"Harley… It's _Romeo and Juliet_; duh!"

"…Oh yeaaaah."

The girls got a good laugh out of that. They were still laughing when an all too familiar voice sang out to them.

"_Hello, my baby  
Hello, my honey  
Hello, my ragtime gal;  
Send me a kiss by wire  
Baby, my hearts on fire;  
If you refuse me  
Honey, you'll lose me  
Then you'll be left alone  
Oh baby, telephone  
And tell me I'm your own!"_

Samantha didn't even turn to face him; she continued to look at Alice and Harley. "If I keep ignoring it do you think it'll go away?" she asked them.

An arm suddenly draped along her shoulders. "Not a chance," Allan whispered in her ear.

Samantha rolled her shoulders, attempting to get Allan's arm off her but it didn't work. "What are you doing here?"

"What; I can't simply be outside, enjoying the day?" he asked, pretending to be insulted. He turned his attention to Harley and Alice. Samantha hated it when he did that. Whenever he talked to her friends Allan seemed to be able to manipulate them. "What are you girls up to; hm?" He touched the corner of his mouth with his tongue out of habit.

Harley batted her eyelashes at him and looped her arm around the arm currently not resting on Samantha's shoulder. "We were just gonna see a movie. Wanna come with?"

Samantha's eyes widened to an impossible size as she stared Harley down. _"I will end you!" _her mind shouted.

Harley caught the look but she gave Samantha a look of her own. _"But he's HOT!" _

Allan was oblivious to the silent conversation going on between the girls. He shrugged and smiled charmingly at Harley. "I don't see why not."

Harley squealed, slightly bouncing on her toes. "Oh goody!"

Samantha only sighed and reluctantly resigned herself to the addition to their company.

"What are you going to see?" Allan asked.

"Well, we were thinking about seeing _Romeo and_-." Alice got cut off by Samantha.

"_Scream!_ Yeah. We're going to see _Scream._" No way was she going to see anything romantic with that boy sitting beside her. Nuh-uh. Nope.

"I still don't know…" Alice started.

"You scared?" Allan goaded, giving her a cheeky grin.

Alice blushed. "A little. I mean, I don't watch movies like that."

Harley let go of Allan's arm so she could go wrap Alice in a protective hug. "Alice is our little sheltered baby," Harley giggled, patting Alice on the head.

"Oh stop it, Harley," Alice whined.

"Well you are the youngest; so that makes you the baby."

"And you're like my big, annoying sister, right?"

"Right-hey!"

"And Samantha would be the Momma of our group."

Samantha tried to make herself look buff but the effect was a little messed up because Allan's arm was still on her shoulders. "Big Mamma Samantha," she said in a deep voice. That made them giggle.

"Hm. Can I be the Daddy?" Allan asked.

"If they say 'yes' then a divorce is imminent," she dead-panned.

"Hey, we better get our tickets. The movie's gonna be starting soon," Harley warned them. They bought their tickets and chose seats close to the steps. It was just as Samantha predicted; Allan ended up sitting next to her. Harley took the end aisle seat on the other side of her and Alice sat in the empty seat on Allan's left.

Alice clung to the big bowl of popcorn all the four teens had chipped in to buy. "I don't know about this," she muttered.

Allan shifted in his seat so that he faced Alice. "You remind me of a cute little mouse, ya know that?" he chuckled. "If ya get too scared," he motioned to his left shoulder, "this shoulder is free to be used as an eye shield."

Samantha could only roll her eyes and grip the armrests tightly. _"Eeeeegh! Stop smoozing up my friends!" _

The lights began to dim and the commercials started. Allan didn't wait very long to try moving his hand closer to Samantha's. She slumped her shoulders. She had wanted to see the movie; now she was going to be battling for her hand's freedom for the next hour and eleven minutes.

Alice did make use of Allan's offer. Whenever the suspense grew too much for her-which was often- Alice tucked her head between the seat and Allan's shoulder. He would laugh at her but didn't tease her. He seemed to actually be focusing on the film and didn't try making any moves on Samantha. She noticed Allan kept fingering his right jeans pocket. She could just make out a slim bump in the pocket, indicating that there was something in there.

Towards the ending of the film, Alice had kept her face fixed to Allan's shoulder but occasionally peeked at the screen; only to squeak and cover her eyes again. Samantha's legs were drawn into her seat and she was hugging her knees, eyes wide and taking in every detail. Harley was biting her painted fingernails to the skin. Allan was smiling. Samantha happened to glance over at him cause he had been quiet and she saw that he was smiling as he watched the people meet their terrible ends. It made her shiver.

The end credits rolled and Alice's head was still stuck between Allan's shoulder and the seat. He tapped her on the head and waved his fingers at her when she ventured to look up. "The bad man's gone, sugar. Can I have my arm back?"

"Sorry."

They stood and stretched, waiting for the dim theatre lights to come back on before walking down the steps. Samantha was experiencing that odd disoriented feeling you get after watching a film in the movie theatre and stumbled on the steps. Allan stopped her fall by wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Nope! Don't want that, do we?"

"_I don't want your arms around my waist either," _Samantha thought.

Samantha's dad was supposed to pick her up at the theatre after the movie. Alice and Harley's moms were there and took them home after the girls gave each other a good-bye hug.

"Thanks for being my Eye Shield," Alice said shyly to Allan.

He winked at her. "No problem."

Alice and Harley giggled and ran to their separate rides home, leaving Samantha standing on the curb with Allan. There was an awkward silence. She checked her wrist watch and sniffed, looking everywhere but at Allan. The silence was disrupted when Allan cleared his throat. "Uuuh… do you have a ride home?" he asked.

"Yeah. My dad should be here soon."

"What happened to your car this time?

"Nothing. My mom had to use it to visit a friend out of the city. My parents don't like the idea of me walking alone in Gotham at night, especially after what happened to the Wayne family."

"Sooo, where's your old man?"

"Should be on his way… hopefully." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Do you have a car?"

"Nope."

"You got a ride?"

"Nope."

"You got a quarter?"

"No-huh?"

"A quarter. You know, it's one of those silver circles with George Washington's head on it."

"Yeah, I got one. You need it?"

"Yeah, please."

He dug the quarter out of the same pocket that the kept mysterious shape. He gave her the quarter and Samantha headed for the payphone at the nearby street light. She dialed her home number and waited.

"Hello?"

"Dad?"

"Hey, Sam."

"Dad, what are you still doing home? I thought you'd be on your way to pick me up from the -."

"Movies! Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I forgot. Mac Coulson was visiting –we used to be real good buddies in high-school ya know- anyway, he was in the area and I invited him over and –oh honey, I'm sorry. I'll just meet up with Mac some other time and come and get you now."

"No, no, no, Dad! You don't have to make Mr. Coulson leave just to pick me up. I'll just walk home."

"Sam, you know I don't want you walking home alone at night. Gotham isn't what it used to be."

"I know that, Dad, but I won't be walking alone." Oh crap. What was she saying? "Do you remember Allan?"

"Casanova?"

Samantha bit down on her lip to keep from laughing. "Yeeeah. He's here. He could walk with me. Sound alright?"

"Well… Yeah. I guess so. Just be alert, honey. Be safe."

"I will."

"Love ya."

"Love ya too."

Samantha hung up and squared her shoulders. She stepped out of the phone booth and walked back to Allan. _"This… is the dumbest idea I've ever had." _Obviously she didn't know that she'd be jumping on a bus after the Joker in the future.

"What's up?" Allan asked her.

"I… I need someone to walk me home. My Dad forgot about picking me up and he's got company over at the apartment."

"So you need a _body _guard?" He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"I don't approve of that insinuation," Samantha replied with a straight, unimpressed face. Allan snickered. "Will you please walk me home?"

Allan stopped laughing and ran his tongue along his bottom lip. His expression looked as though he were thinking it over. He nodded. "Yeah. Sure." His hand drifted to his right pocket but didn't reach in for whatever it was he was keeping in it.

They walked in silence down the streets, Samantha with her arms wrapped around herself to keep warm and Allan with his hands in his back pockets. Occasionally he'd whistle or hum a little tune and ditty to himself. Tonight he seemed to be favoring "Hello My Baby." They had walked three blocks when Allan suddenly went silent and cast a glance at Samantha. She arched an eyebrow at the look on his face.

"Allan?"

"Keep walking and stick close. In fact… let's do this." He looped his arm around Samantha's waist and placed his other hand on the hip closest to his body. He picked up their walking pace when they were passing by the opening of an alley. Just as they were almost clear, a hand snatched at the back of Allan's collar and dragged him into the alley. Samantha was pulled along with him. She gasped in surprise and stumbled at the sudden change of directions and also bumping into Allan, who's gripe had tightened on her.

"Looky here," a thickly Brooklyn accented man taunted. "We got ourselves some guests."

Samantha counted two of them; darkly clothed, early to mid-twenties, orange bandannas on their heads. They were standing in front of the Allan and Samantha with sick smiles on their faces. Allan slowly positioned himself to be in front of Samantha while keeping a constant physical contact with her. The palm of his hand was centimeters from her belly; the tips of his fingers were pinching the fabric of her shirt. As long as he could feel her there then he could concentrate on his front.

"Did we bother you?" the leader asked Allan.

Allan offered what he thought was a disarming smile. At least it was the same one he used on the teachers to get him out of detention. "Naaah. We were just heading home."

"Oh. Well, if you wouldn't mind thiz slight detour to help out some boyz in need?"

"Nmmh." Allan tilted his head to the side while narrowing his eyes in a way that said, "Are you serious?"

Samantha caught the other boy checking her out. He was lazily circling around to be behind them now and was shamelessly eyeing her butt. She shifted her position so that her back touched Allan's. She felt him stiffen briefly at the contact. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder and saw what had caused Samantha to get so close to him. He reached back and grasped at the material covering her belly, tugging her around and pulling Samantha to his front. He pressed her close, wrapping an arm possessively around her middle.

Right now, Samantha was more afraid of these men than she was of Allan. In fact, right now, she felt almost safe with him. She could feel each breath Allan took since she was pressed flush against his torso. They were slow and even, not panicky.

"That's a mighty cute chicka you got there, bud," the leader commented.

Allan's arm tightened its hold around her waist. "Yeah, I know," he answered in a low voice. His free hand was inching towards his right pocket.

"You in the mood to share her?"

The pressure Allan put around Samantha's waist nearly made her gasp. He didn't like that. "Uuuh…" he licked his lips, "Noooo."

His hand was in his pocket and slowly bringing it with a closed fist. He kept constant eye contact with the leader. The leader flicked out a switchblade and let Allan and Samantha have a good look at its sharp blade. "Now, how much you got on ya? Hm? Hand it all over; come on, come on!"

The only sign Samantha had that Allan was going to act at that moment was the tap he gave her hip with his index finger just before he flung her out of the way and launched himself at the leader. He flicked open the knife he'd been holding in his hand. And while Allan was fighting the two thugs, Samantha couldn't help but think…. _"I just watched a slasher film with a guy who had a knife in his pocket and who's sanity I'm constantly questioning…" _

"Samantha; run!" shouted a voice that vaguely resembled Allan's. Samantha got up from the pavement and headed for the open street, hoping to see anyone that could help. A man's scream from in the alley made her hurried steps falter and she turned to look back. What she saw made her tremble. But it had to be a trick of the light, or an illusion caused by the adrenaline. What she thought she saw was Allan repetitively stabbing the leader and grinning while he did it. The rumble of a car engine broke Samantha's trance and she looked to the street to see a truck going by. She sprinted out of the alley and felt her spirits drop when she realized the truck was going too fast for her to catch up to and they didn't notice her waving them down.

"Samantha, come on!"

She whirled around to see a bloodied Allan Jordan tumbling out of the alley, gripping his knife and glancing behind him. "Come on, we gotta go!" he urged her.

Samantha couldn't stop staring at the blood. "Allan, your clothes-!"

"It's not all mine, okay; just run!"

She quickened her pace to match his as they ran from the alley and didn't stop until they were far from it and in need of oxygen. "What happened back there?" Samantha wheezed.

"I did some serious damage to them. I knocked one out and his friend got a nasty knife wound to the leg…" he lightly traced the edge of his bloody knife. "I wanted to get us out of their before the other guy woke up and his friend tried to come after us even with a bad leg."

"So you didn't… You didn't kill them?"

"What? No. What makes you think that?"

"I thought I saw you…"

Allan slowly raised an eyebrow as he waited for her to finish. "You thought you saw what?" he asked.

"I thought I saw something besides disarming happening in the alley."

"You were scared, okay. That's not what happened."

Samantha didn't like that he still had the knife out and was rubbing his thumb along its edge. "Allan… could you put that away, please?"

His thumb stopped its course but he made no move to put it away. "Does it bother you?"

"Yes. Right now it really does."

Allan licked his lips and kept eye contact as he stashed it back into his pocket. Samantha hugged herself tightly to stop from shaking. Allan cautiously touched her hand with his blood stained palms. "Are you okay there?" Samantha forced herself to nod. "Good. Now let's get you home. I hope your Dad doesn't mind if I don't come inside. I'd rather he not, uh, see me with this glorious shade of red on me, okay?"

Again Samantha nodded. When Allan took her by the arm, she didn't tug away. She let hm guide her home. She didn't catch the morning news though the next day about the police finding two dead men wearing orange bandannas in an alley.

**(Me: "Well, that's the longest chapter I've done in a while! And guess what? I got it done before-."  
Joker: "The end of the world!"  
Me: "Yes. Yes I did. Seriously though, I doubt that it's going to be-."  
Joker: "The end of the world!"  
Me: "…in a few short hours… But just in case it really is the-."  
Joker: "End of the world!"  
Me: "Oh my gosh; give it a rest!"  
Joker: -_-  
Me: "Like I said; just in case it is the… *looks at Joker. Joker remains quiet* … Hm. The end of the world. I apologize for not being able to finish this fic before then."  
Joker: "It's the end of the world as we know it!"  
Me: "Oh would you just shut up!" **

**Please leave a review!**


	8. Chapter 7

**(*sighs* I love Christmas Break. I get to spend time with my family, have time to relax, and spend time catching up on my writing! Now for a chapter centered on everyones' two favorite insane criminals! The Joker and the Riddler! And also, Jonathan Crane! Yea! I've missed these guys so much!)**

Chapter Seven

The two orderlies pushed him into the rec room and slammed the door shut behind them. The Joker straightened invisible wrinkles out of his orange uniform. "Be careful with me, gentlemen, I bruise easily." The men sneered at him.

The Joker raised his left hand and swept some of his hair away from his face. Although the green dye in his hair had gradually faded away over the year he still was able to find a way to get the make-up and paint he used to cover his face. Hardly anyone in Arkham had seen him without his make-up. There was a police photo that had been taken of him-without makeup- when he'd been arrested after the Prewitt Building Incident. The picture was now in Gotham Police's database and in his Arkham Asylum file, but only the psychiatrists treating him were allowed to see that picture due to privacy. Despite that picture, he still hid his face. It helped make identifying him more difficult. People were used to seeing him with the paint on every day. That was the face they had memorized in their heads, not the other one.

The Joker turned around and observed who was in the rec room with him. He didn't see Harley Quinn, which was a relief. Oh! Jonathan Crane was here! The ex-psychologist was at a table playing chess with another inmate.

A strikingly beautiful woman with wavy red hair was lying on a sofa, absent-mindedly stroking the leaves of a plant on the table next to the sofa as her green eyes watched the TV installed in the upper corner of the room. The Joker did a double-take. Green eyes… Well, since Samantha wasn't around for him to bug the Plant Lady would have to do. He put his hands behind his back and leisurely strolled over to the sofa, stopping behind it. He stared at the back of her head. The Plant Lady shifted with a hint of annoyance. Ah, so she sensed him. He grinned and continued to stare. He shuffled over to the side of the sofa closest to her face.

The Plant Lady huffed and finally graced the Joker by turning to face him. Her green eyes slightly widened when she recognized who he was, but she still retained her look of aggravation.

"May I help you?" she asked. Her voice was low and raspy yet still seductive.

"Yes, I believe you can!" He grasped the top of the sofa and hopped over. The woman moved her legs just in time before the Joker landed on them. She sat up straight and finally stopped stroking the plant.

"You see, I know a girl with eyes like yours. Beautiful girl too; just like you! But since she's not here and I can't look at _her _eyes-," he leaned in and crossed the boundary line of any woman's personal space, "I was wondering if you'd let me have a gander at _yours_."

The woman put a hand to his chest and gave him a hard shove. "What? I don't think so!"

The Joker moved close to her again. "Would you rather I took you to dinner and a movie first?" he chuckled while licking his lips.

"Go away you scum of a man!"

The Joker lifted an eyebrow. _"Now that's a new one," _he thought. He grabbed a lock of her hair and pretended to scrutinize it. "Are you a natural red head?"

The woman wacked his hand away and raised her voice. "Guard!"

As if on cue, a big, burly man appeared seemingly out of nowhere and frowned. "Is there a problem Miss Isley?"

"Yes, this clown is bothering me."

"That's right; put the blame on me," the Joker whined playfully. The guard clamped a meaty hand around the Joker's arm and hoisted him off the sofa. He clenched his teeth; allowing the man to shove him a good distance from Miss. Isely. He bumped into the table Jonathan Crane was sitting and playing chess at. Some chess pieces fell over and Crane's opponent became upset. The patient clenched the sides of his head and let out a cry before looking up at the Joker. He screamed and jumped up, overturning his chair, and ran away, still shrieking.

"I love the effect I have on people," the Joker sighed happily.

"He's a coulrophobic," Crane remarked calmly while picking up the fallen chess pieces.

"Come again?"

"It means he's afraid of clowns, not you specifically."

"But since I'm dressed as one, he _is _afraid of _me_."

Crane closed the lid of the case holding the pieces and sighed irritably. "Yes, I suppose so," he answered. He lifted his blue eyes from the table to meet the Joker's dark ones. "The asylum must be in a chaotic mess due to the incident with Dr. Arkham. Otherwise they never would have put you in here at the same time as a patient with sever coulrophobia."

At the word 'chaos', the Joker's eyebrows quirked up. "You know something, Crane?" He wet his lips and cocked his head to the side. "It's rude not to sh_aaa_re." He snickered and grabbed the chair the other man had been occupying and set it upon four legs. He straddled the chair, resting his arms on top of the chair's low back.

Crane discreetly glanced around and began to set the game pieces back on the board. Crane- white; Joker- black. "I hope you play chess, otherwise we'll look suspicious talking to one another."

The Joker eyed the chess board with a reluctant air and sighed through his nose. He scooted his chair closer to the table and waited for Crane to finish setting the board.

"Batman visited me last night," Crane whispered once the board was set. He moved his first chess piece.

"Oh how sweet. But I can't help but feel a little hurt since he didn't come and see me." The Joker's fingers fluttered over his pieces as he decided which one to move. He chose the pawn at the very edge on the left.

"He was asking questions about Dr. Strange and a patient he was treating. Strange's treatments weren't exactly healthy for the patient and Arkham knew about it. He was hoping the patient would reveal some information about you." Another move followed by the Joker's turn.

The Joker chewed the inside of his cheek and watched Crane make his next move. "Who was the patient?" His hand reached out to move his next piece when Crane pulled out a photo from under his shirt and laid it down on the space beside the board. The Joker's eyes locked on Samantha's image. Suddenly his hand wasn't reaching for a game piece; it was gripping Crane by his neck. The clown's eyes were as black as sin as they burned into Crane. "Where did you get that?" he growled in a low voice.

"You'll bring the guards on us," Crane wheezed as the clown's fingers tightened around his throat.

"By the time it takes them to cross the floor you'll be dea_d-ah_."

"I'll tell you if you let go."

The Joker hesitated only for an instant then released Crane and glanced around to make sure the act had gone unnoticed, which it had. Crane rubbed his neck and gave a light cough. "I got the photo from Batman last night when he was questioning me about Dr. Strange and the serum he was using on your wife."

The Joker's hands clenched into tight fists. "Wha_t-ah _serum?" he hissed, flicking his tongue over his bottom lip.

Crane noticed a guard looking at them and he signaled the Joker by moving a chess piece. "A serum that I used to derive my fear toxin from." He explained everything to him as they continued their farce chess game. He told hm of his encounter with Batman the night before and of Arkham's arrest. The Joker's eyes turned blacker as the minutes ticked on.

"Sooo, sommmme docterrrr… is out there trying to pry into _my_ Samantha's mind?" the Joker summarized. "Well I don't like that. Not. One. _Bit-ah_." He needed out of Arkham Asylum. His time of lazily lounging about was done. He was ready to get back to work in Gotham. No one else was allowed to mess with Batman or his Samantha. _His_ wife.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"What I do best." He grabbed Samantha's picture and hid it somewhere on his person. "Cause chao_ssss_." The Joker stared at the board and smirked. He reached for his queen and moved it. "Checkmate."

Crane blinked as he surveyed the chess pieces. How had that happened?

A woman passed by their table and Crane lifted his gaze to see it was Miss Isely. She glared at the Joker as she went past. The Joker smirked smugly. Crane cleared his throat to draw the Joker's attention back to him. "I'd advise you to be cautious around Miss Isely."

The Joker giggled. "Why? Is she your girl?"

Crane scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. You obviously haven't heard why she's here, have you? She's into poisons, Joker; deadly poisons. Miss Pamela Lillian Isely used to date Harvey Dent a few years ago before he began his campaign to become Gotham's District Attorney. Before you started to make yourself known. She seemed to like him, but she was plotting to kill Dent the entire time.

'In case it escaped your notice, she happens to love plants. She loves them as if they were her own _children_. Dent had closed a piece of a park and turned it over to some real estate developers. The land was to be the site of some new suburbs that would have been affordable to nearly everyone. The idea was to get people out of the Narrows. The developers went bankrupt halfway through construction and had to sell the land to a toxic waste company looking for a new place to dump its trash. It just so happened that this park grew a very rare specimen of roses. The petals were poisonous so they were overlooked as disposable and not worth any sort of wildlife protection."

The Joker produced a yawn and his eyes seemed to glaze over. "Look-listen-this is, uh, all very interesting, buuut what has that got to do with anything?"

Crane leaned back in his seat. "I'm getting there. Dent and Miss Isely started for a few weeks. One night, she kissed him and he ended up being hospitalized."

The Joker snickered. Crane kept going. "She had dug up the roses from the park and was growing them in her greenhouse. She turned the petals into lipstick."

"Sooo, she really tried to use the Kiss of Death, huh?" The Joker cracked up at his own joke. Crane didn't even smile.

"All the same. Be careful who you mess with. You might find her knowledge of poisons useful quite useful to you in the future."

So that's why Crane had told him about Pamela Isely. He'd keep that in mind. The wheels were already turning in his head on how to escape. But he didn't want an ordinary escape. It had to be big. It had to plunge the whole city into panic.

He turned his head and saw a man with red hair bent over a table, working on a puzzle. The Joker's posture immediately straightened in the chair as he gazed at the man. A sickening smile crawled its way onto his scarred lips. He flicked his tongue over his mouth.

"Well, well, well… look who we have herrrre..." He got up from his chair and left.

Crane shook his head and sighed. "'The patient is beyond curing,'" he muttered, reciting the notes he'd seen every psychiatrist put down on the Joker's file. How did he see the Joker's file? Well, Arkham still asked Crane's professional opinion every now and then. Out of all the patients in the asylum, the Joker was the one who went through psychiatrists like a box of tissues.

….

The Joker casually strolled over to the red-headed man. He had to be _sure _it was _him_. He got a good look at the man's face. It was Edward Nigma alright. The Joker shook his head of blond hair and snickered. Arkham Asylum must r_eally _be in a state of confusion over losing the owner if they put the two of them in the same room together. Not that Arkham doctors actually paid much attention in the first place. They were sloppy, careless, and unoriginal. All the doctors they assigned him with asked the same questions, nothing out of the box. And with every single one he manipulated them, frustrated them, assaulted them, killed them, or caused one or two…or five to go mentally insane from listening to his logic. He was becoming bored with the asylum and the people who worked and inhabited it. And when he was bored…nothing good came of it. He needed something to excite him, entertain him; like Batman. Something to stimulate him; like Samantha.

The Joker stood by and watched Edward snapping puzzles pieces together with little hesitation. He glanced at the puzzle box and noted that it had 100,000 pieces. The Joker figured he could finish something like that in about a week or less, but at the rate Nigma was going he would probably finish the puzzle that very night! Well, the Joker was named The Clown Prince of Crime for a reason, just like Nigma had been dubbed by the Arkham staff as The Prince of Puzzles. But there could only be one 'Prince' who would end up being the King…

The Joker popped his neck and got ready to lung at Nigma, not caring if he was stopped by the guards, but he paused when a thought sailed into his head.

He wanted to get out of Arkham Asylum and fast. But he wanted it to be big. He wanted it to be an announcement to Gotham City that the Joker was back and ready to play. He glance Jonathan Crane and Pamela Isley and then back at Nigma. Nigma had displayed some skills with technology while he went about as The Riddler. But just _how _good was he? How good was he with computers and codes? They were similar to puzzles… A sly, devilish grin worked its way across his face. The Agent of Chaos now had a mission.

The Joker saw some guards had noticed him staring at Nigma and were beginning to eye him suspiciously. Judging by the fact that they were not already trying to take him away from Nigma, the guards must not have been informed of the bad blood between the two men.

"_Come to think of it… Eddie doesn't know either if his memory is still gone." _The Joker nearly keeled over laughing as his way of escape presented itself to him with clarity. It was time to put it into action, starting now.

The Joker walked up to Edward and gave him a pat on the back. "I finally found you! It's been sooo long!" he said joyfully.

Edward flinched at the unexpected contact. He raised an eyebrow when the Joker plopped into the seat next to him. Utter surprise and confusion was written on Nigma's face when he saw the make-up and the scars. "Do…do I know you?" he asked.

"It's me; Joe Payaso! Ring any bells?"

"Um…are you aware of the coincidence of your last name's meaning and the state of your face?" He flicked his eyes to his puzzle and then back at the Joker. "Your name means 'clown' in-."

"Spanish. Yeah. You've told me that about twelve times."

"I…I have?"

"Yeah. Don't you remember?"

"I'm…I'm sorry. I don't remember you."

The Joker's face fell and he lowered his gaze to the table. He gave a very convincing unhappy sigh. "They told me you had no memory but I didn't want to believe them. I couldn't believe that you had forgotten me. We were best buds, you and I."

Edward switched his attention from the unfinished puzzle and focused on the odd man beside him. "Were we close friends?" he asked, hopeful to find any link to his past.

"We were like brothers! I can't believe you really don't remember!"

Neither could Edward. He thought he'd remember someone who painted his face like a clown and had such horrific scars like this man. "I'm really sorry but I just can't remember."

"_What if he's lying to you?" _a voice whispered in Nigma's head. Well, he could ask him a few questions and hear the man out.

"What's my name?"

"Eddie." Edward gave him a doubtful look. "Well, you're real name's Edward- but you hate being called that. You prefer Eddie." The Joker fought back the laughter. If Nigma couldn't remember why not have some fun with it?

"Really?" _Ask another question._ "How long have we known each other?"

"Aboout, uh, theee eighth grade."

"What's my favorite color?"

"Green." The Joker felt like rolling his eyes at Edward's questions. Nigma hardly knew anything about himself so he'd only ask questions he knew the answers to, but those were very evident answers.

'Joe Payaso' nodded and flicked his tongue along his bottom lip. Edward really didn't know what to make of the man beside him. His voice was… unsettling. It was constantly changing pitch. He wouldn't sit still either. He talked with his hands _a lot_.

The Joker caught Edward slipping glances at his scars. "Interesting aren't they?" he asked, in a whisper.

"How… did you get them?" Nigma asked hesitantly.

The Joker's eyes widened with shock. "You reeeeally don't remember, do you?" he sighed and leaned an elbow on the table. "When we were fifteen, we were cornered by some guys in a gang. They asked us if we had any money and I decide_d-ah _to beee funny. You always use to tell me I chose the wrong times to be funn_yyy_. I said to them, 'I don't know; what about you, Eddie? Do you know?' Tha_t-ah _tick_ed _the leader off. He grabs me and comes at me with a knife. He says-uh, 'You think you're funny, don't you, kid? Come ooon; I dare you to smile…Why aren't you laughing? _What'sss _wrong, kid? _Why sooo serious-ah_?' …He stuck the blade in my mouth," he pointed at his left cheek, tapping his index finger on the damaged skin, "and he gave me these… Lucky for us a store owner heard me scream when I got these beauties and scared off the thugs."

Edward's jaw was slack at the discovery of how Joe got those scars. It was horrible. Absolutely horrible. But he was still wary of Joe. He wasn't sure if he could trust him. Why was he here in Arkham in the first place? One more question to test him.

"Why am I here?"

'Joe' leaned in like he was going to share a secret. "What did _they _tell you happened?"

"That I was caught in some bad wiring and got electrocuted. That I did some really terrible things before."

The Joker shook his head and chuckled. "Of course that's what they told you." He chuckled. "Sooo what was their explanation for _your_ scar; hmm?" He wet his lips and elevated his eyebrows as he waited for an answer.

Edward's breath caught in his throat and the scar on his chest felt like it was burning. No one but the doctors who treated him and Samantha knew about that scar! How did Joe know about it?

"How do you know about that?"

The Joker had him. He'd nailed it. That one piece of information. Bam! Nigma would believe anything he said now. He just had to sell it.

'Joe' closed his eyes as if recalling unpleasant memories. "You were _screeeeaming _like I've never heard anyone scream before."

Edward's heart was hammering in his chest. "How did it happen? Why am I in this forsaken place?"

"We got mixed up with the wrong people, Eddie. We weren't careful."

"What do you mean?"

"We thought it was a simple shady deal with the mob. We get sent a package, we drop it off with them, we get paid, and we leave and never mention it ever again. I told you not to ask questions. You couldn't let it be. You wanted to know what was in the package. You asked the wrong question while we were being instructed and they grabbed you. They held me back so I couldn't stop them. One of them took out a knife aaaand …," the Joker traced a shape over his own chest, "he cut that question mark into you. He said it was a reminder to keep your mouth shu_t-ah_. They said they'd do much worse if we double-crossed them. Said they'd make our lives a living Hell."

Edward placed a hand over the area of his scar. "But how did I end up here?"

Joe shifted in his chair. "You see, that, uuh, was my fault. It's my fault that you're in here."

"How?"

"I screwed up. The day before we went to deliver the package, I lost it. I had taken my eyes off it not even for a minute and someone filched it. We bought a box that looked the same as the othe_rrr_ aaand we went to meet the mobsters the next day. We were going to hand it off to them and leave before they got a chance to look inside. But it didn't. Happen. That. Way."

Nigma's left hand clutched the edge of the table. "What _did _happen?"

"They opened the box before we were even half way to the car. They took out their_rr _guns_ss_ and we booked it." Joe moved his hand in a straight line to emphasize his words. "I was always the fastest runner, but yo_uuu_ never had a problem keeping up with me. I thought you were behind me the whole time, I _swear_. I didn't realize you were gone until I got to the car. I tried to go back for you. I, I drove the car to the spot where we met the men but, but no one was therrre! I drove through every alley in the area and couldn't find you. I hoped that maybe you'd made it out and were back at the apartment. But you weren't."

He glanced around and crooked his finger at Nigma, signaling him to lean in closer. He lowered his voice. "I looked more into the deals of those mobsters. It was more than just the_ mob _we had screwed with; it was a _big man_ sitting in a cushiony political seat that we had pulled out from under hi_mmm_. He used the mob to do his dirty work. I don't know what he made them do to you to have you end up losing your memories, but _he'sss_ the one who put you in herrre. He's got you set up as a loony in here soo no one will believe you if you ever do recover your memories and try to rat on him. I finally tracked you down to here. I dressed up strange and acted insane while committing a few crimes and earned me a pass into Arkham so I can bust you out."

And the award goes to The Joker! He had to admit; that was one of his best Made on the Spot stories yet! The Joker watched Nigma's face as he processed his story. The man's face was a mixture of shock and something else. He could tell Edward was feeling overwhelmed. He clearly believed the lies. Now it was only a matter of time before he had Nigma in the palm of his hand.

"So, I, I didn't do anything bad? I didn't do terrible things?"

"That was a shame story they gave you, Eddie. We made some mistakes but nothing to land us in here."

Edward took a deep breath. Exhaled; then shuddered. "Oh g-…" He choked back some mixed sobs of relief, frustration, anger, and satisfaction. Nigma turned away from Joe so he wouldn't see how close he was to breaking down. The strain of it all had been wearing him thin but now he had answers. He finally knew why he was here. He finally knew how he got his scar. He finally knew that he did have a friend in this world. And he finally knew that this friend had never stopped looking for him.

The Joker impatiently tapped his index finger on the table as he waited for Nigma to pull himself together. To keep up with his 'friendly' charade, he gave Edward a quick pat on his shoulder. While Nigma's back was turned to him, the Joker's hand slowly moved over the puzzle pieces on the table. He hovered over one piece and picked it up, subtly tucking it away.

Edward rubbed his forehead but left his hand there, letting his head rest on his palm as he leaned over the table. He still had some questions. What about Samantha? How did she fit into this?

"Samantha," Edward struggled to say between heavy breaths.

That got the Joker's attention. "Hm?"

"Samantha Reads. She visits me every Thursday."

The Joker fought the urge to launch himself at the fool and beat him to a bloody mass. "Doesss she noooow," he said slowly.

"Yes. She knows me but she isn't allowed to say how. Do you know her?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I know her. So do you."

Edward turned his body back around to face the Joker. "Who is she? What's her connection to me?" he asked urgently.

"Look, youuu've got enough to sort through right now. It's probably best if I tell you that bit another day."

"No!" Edward clutched the Joker by his arms. A desperate man clinging to his last hope. "Tell me! Who is she to me? I have to know!"

The Joker pulled Nigma's hands off of him and eased them back to Edward's side of the table. "Not today. You've got to take this slowly. Okay? Hm?"

"But I-!"

"Eddie," the Joker said sternly.

Edward ran his fingers through his disheveled hair and heaved a sigh. "Tomorrow then?"

"When I think you're ready. Nooow, weee need to figure a way out of here. And I've got just the idea. Are you still a miracle worker with computers and codes?"

Edward gave a half-hearted nod. "Yes."

"Then this will work. We're gonna bust out of here…along with everyone else in this asylum."

Edward jolted up from his slumped position. "What?" he nearly shouted, then lowered his voice. "Are you insane?!"

_Oh you have noooo idea._ "It's perfect."

"Perfectly mad! You and I may not be the insane ones but I doubt our situation is the same as everyone else's in this asylum."

"But Edde-."

"No, no, no; a million times over, no. I won't help let lose a population of mental disturbed criminals on the city just so the two of us can escape. Think of something else." And with that, Edward turned his attention back to his puzzle, ignoring the Joker.

The Clown Prince sighed through his nose and pretended to be put out, but inside he was cackling. Edward would see things his way soon enough. It was all just a matters of a few days.

_Here I come, Gotham. Here I come, Batman. Here I come, Samantha. _

**(So there! Yes! Another chapter finished! For those of you waiting for the Mad Hatter to make his appearance, PLEASE be patient! He's coming! It's not too long now! He'll show up soon! At least four or three more chapters until he arrives!  
So, any thoughts about this twist of events? Any ideas about what could happen? Let me know in a review, please! I love you-!  
Joker: "Not so fast!"  
Me: Dang it!  
Joker: "Ha! Thought you were gonna update a chapter without my comments?"  
Me: Yes. Foolish of me.  
Joker: "Ha! Listen you little fanfic readers, since this Mad Hatter fellow is coming into the picture, there might be some of you who want to jump Villain trains and join his fan club but that's not going to happen. You got it?"  
Me: *facepalm* Ugh.  
Joker: "Now that that's been said, please leave a review for Skies here so she can stop doubting her writing capabilities and finish this darn story. 'Kay?"  
Me: JOKER!)**


	9. Chapter 8

**(*rises from the grave* "I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!" I'm back with another chapter! I'm sorry that's it's been months since I updated this story! I'm sorry a million times over! Please don't hate me, please don't kill me! But I'm here now! Please don't be angry. I just got soooo overwhelmed with college stuff ***_**phft**_*** and I'm sorry! How many times do I have to keep saying this?  
Joker: "Until they forgive you."  
Me: I'm soooorry! I'm also hoping my readers are still interested in this fic. I mean, it's been nearly four months since I posted something! )**

Chapter Eight

September 10th, 2010

11:30 Am

Samantha hadn't been able to sleep. Well, she had drifted off for an hour at the most after Batman had left, but no more than that. Alice was at work and wouldn't be home for another three hours. Little Riddler was currently keeping her company. His furry head was nestled on her bare knee as she lounged on the sofa. A turquoise blue, quarter-inch sleeve shirt and white capris were her outfit for the day. Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. Ah, the life of an unemployed girl.

She sighed and stretched herself; the sound of bones popping reached her ears. Little Riddle's head jerked up at the sudden movement of her legs and he batted at her knee, expressing his displeasure at being woken up. Samantha laughed and gently scratched him behind the ear. "Well I bought you a perfectly good napping pillow; but I guess it's my fault for having such comfortable knees to nap on, huh?" She tickled his chin and the feline, sensing he wasn't going to be able to continue napping in peace, jumped off the sofa and stalked away.

"Moody!" Samantha laughed. She let out another sigh and looked out the wide window at the city. She had been debating all day about going out to buy some clothes for her new job at Wayne Enterprise, but she was reluctant to leave the safety of the apartment.

"He's still locked up, Samantha," she told herself.

"_But he's got people out there watching you."_

"Since when has that really stopped you?"

Alright; it was now or never. Samantha breathed in and pushed herself up from the sofa, walking to her room so she could grab her purse, and shoes.

…

The first place she went in to shop at was a little place called _Belle's Wardrobe_. It wasn't the sort of place that sold business wear, but she had spotted a pretty, knee length white dress that was displayed in the window. The young employee Samantha spoke to was very nice and went to find the same outfit in her size. When she came back, another woman was with her; the employer. Her name tag read, "Marge."

"Hello, I'm just here to see that our new employee is being helpful…." Marge drifted off as she looked at Samantha's face a little more closely.

Samantha dropped her gaze and nodded. "She's been very helpful."

"Here's your size, ma'am," the young employee, "Karen" her tag read, said as she handed the dress to Samantha.

Marge suddenly intercepted the dress. "Oh, ma'am, I'm sorry. But this dress is actually on hold for someone else. A big To Do party, you understand?"

"Oh…" Samantha shrugged. "Is there another of the same size?"

Karen opened her mouth to reply but Marge broke in before she had a chance. "This is the last one of the style, I'm afraid."

Samantha took note of the thin line Marge's lips made. It was like she was restraining herself from curling her lips in distaste. "I see."

Karen's brow was wrinkled in confusion. "But I thought that we had just got a new shipment of that dress-?"

"No, Karen, it was a different white dress. Summer dresses; early shipments."

Samantha licked her lips as she struggled to remain pleasant. "Look, if this has anything to do with who I am-…"

"I don't know what you're referring to, ma'am," Marge lied. She and Samantha stared at one another in silence. Karen could tell something was up but wasn't sure whose side to take.

Finally, Samantha spoke up. "Okay." If that was how it was going to be, then fine. She turned to leave the store. "Have a good day, Karen," she called to the young girl.

"And you as well, Mrs. Reads," Marge replied back, not letting the girl speak.

Samantha paused and turned her head to look at Marge. "Funny… I never said my name and yet you say you have no idea what 'problem' I was talking about." She puckered her lips and shrugged sarcastically. "Mighty odd," she commented, and left the shop.

Samantha had had to deal with encounters like that before. Sometimes she would be recognized and be given the cold shoulder. Every now and then she would be recognized by a sympathetic soul who would trip over themselves to be courteous to her. Or they were either terrified that word would get round to the Joker that they had treated his wife badly. But most of the time, if she was recognized, Samantha was treated with hostility.

She was just about to round the corner when she heard her name called out. Turning around, Samantha was surprised to see Karen jogging to catch up with to her. The girl had a shopping bag in her hand. "I really don't care what my boss' problem is, but I think it's unfair how she treated you and-," she held up the bag, "I bought it."

Samantha's mouth fell open. "You didn't." The bag was handed to her. She opened it up and looked inside. "You did!"

Karen chuckled. "Yeaaaah." She turned to go. Samantha stopped her.

"Hey, wait. I really do appreciate this. But I can't let you just walk away without repaying you."

Karen made a flippant gesture with her hand. "Phft; it's fine."

"No, Karen, it isn't. I mean, -."

"Why was she treating you like that?"

Samantha tilted her head to the side. "You really don't recognize me?"

"I'm not from around here. I just moved to Gotham about two months ago. College, ya know?"

"Right."

"Soooo?"

"You'll probably find out sooner or later… but just know, I had no choice."

Karen's brows wrinkled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Samantha bit her lip but didn't answer. "Thank you, again, for the dress. Is there an address I can contact you with? I can send you money-."

"_Karen!"_ Marge's harsh voice snapped. The two women looked at the shop's entrance to see her standing outside the door, hands on her hips and a nasty snarl curling her lips.

Karen took a pen that had been stuck in her ponytail and reached inside the bag for the receipt. She jotted down her address. "And that's a 'K'," she explained, pointing at the letter as she handed the paper back to Samantha. "All my friends tease me that my 'K's look like 'L' 'I's."

"Karen!"

"I'm coming!" Karen gave Samantha an apologetic smile and hurried back to the shop. Samantha watched as the two disappeared inside and looked down at the receipt.

_Karen Kroeber  
652 Leathen Street, 4th Dormitory, Room # 12_

Samantha couldn't help but smile. _"Maybe Gotham isn't completely hopeless." _

….

Alice logged off her computer and stretched. It had been a busy work day and now she was ready to go back to her apartment and have a nice late lunch with Samantha. She gathered her things and stepped away from her desk, only to bump into a co-worker.

"Oh! Please, d, d, do excuse me, Miss Alice," an accented, nervous voice apologized.

Alice smiled at the man as he fidgeted with his hands. "That's alright, Jervis. We're both in a hurry."

"Y, yes. Indeed."

Jervis Tetch, in Alice's opinion, was the sweetest man in the research department. He was also the shyest. Jervis could barely complete a sentence without stuttering. The man had an IQ as high as Einstein, shaggy blond hair, watery blue eyes, a rather large nose, and big teeth. His social skills weren't impressive but his knowledge of science _was._

"Um, on your way home then?" he asked, attempting to make small talk.

Alice nodded. "Mh-hm." Alice scrambled to think of something else to say to Jervis because, gosh-darn it-, the man was trying so hard to be sociable. "Uh, is your project coming along?"

"Hm? Oh! Y, yes! It's c, c, coming along… just fine. Still n, n, needs lots of w, w, work though."

"Well, if anyone can make it work, it's you, Jervis."

The man practically blushed beet red at her compliment. "Th, thank y, you, Miss Alice."

"Miss Fredricks!"

Both turned their heads to see Lucious Fox coming toward them. "Mr. Fox," Alice smiled.

"Mr. Wayne wanted me to catch you before you left. He wants you to give this to Mrs. Reads. Says it's a day late but a hitch in the delivery was to blame." He handed her a white box with blue ribbon tied around it. It was about the size of a cliché birthday box.

"Well, good day then, Miss Alice," Jervis said, sounding a little disappointed. He began to resume his quick pace back to his office.

"Oh, uh, okay. Good bye, Jervis." Alice felt bad for him. He didn't have any friends in the department, except her. She turned her attention back to Mr. Fox. "I'll be sure that she gets this."

…

"Oh, I am starving! I hope we've got something good in the fridge because – oh my gosh, Samantha, that looks so pretty on you!"

Samantha had been turning around in front of the full length mirror in the living room, examining the new white dress on her. She smiled at Alice's compliment and gave playful twirl. "Yeees, it is rather grand, isn't it?" she asked in a snobbish voice.

Alice giggled. "Where did you get it?"

"It's a story that is caught in the middle of short and long." Samantha then told her about Karen.

"Oh that was sweet," Alice said after hearing the story.

"I know. I just hope that action didn't get her fired."

"Well, speaking of unexpected gifts, this is from Bruce Wayne." Alice held out the box to Samantha.

Samantha's brows knitted together as she gave a confused smile. "A birthday gift?"

"Mr. Fox gave it to me before I left work, saying it was from Mr. Wayne. He told me that Mr. Wayne said, 'it's a day late but a hitch in the delivery was to blame.' Does that make sense to you?"

Samantha took the box and made her way over to the sofa, sitting down on the cushions with the box on her knees. "Can't say that it does. But Bruce already gave me my birthday present. Well, birthday lunch."

"Soooo," Alice slid onto the couch with her. "It wasn't enough?"

Samantha began to untie the ribbon. "I guess not in Bruce's case." Off went the lid and both women peered inside. "A walkie-talkie?" Samantha reached in and brought out the device.

"Only one?" Alice asked, confused.

"There's a note."

"What's it say?"

"Channel Two."

"…That's it?"

Samantha shrugged as she switched the talkie on and tuned it to channel two. Static filled the room.

"Now what?"

Samantha pressed the button. "Uh… hello?"

"This is Rich Boy calling Pretty Woman, come in Pretty Woman; over," came a voice from the talkie. Samantha recognized it instantly.

"Bruce!"

"Who's Bruce? This is Rich Boy; over."

Samantha smiled and rolled her eyes. "Alright, Rich Boy. This is Pretty Woman; over."

"Pretty Woman, go look out your window for the second part of your birthday gift; over."

"Why; what is it?"

"Rich Boy over and out."

"Bruce?" _Ssshkk. _"Bruce?" _Sshkk. _"Rich Boy?" _Sshkk. _

Alice was already heading for the window. She peered out and gasped. "Samantha! Come here, quick!"

Samantha hurried over and joined Alice. Her mouth opened wide. A red mustang was parked at the curb in front of the apartment. A big white bow was on its hood. Samantha let out an even louder gasp than Alice. "Noooo!" she said in disbelief. They tore away from the window and dashed out of the apartment. Once they reached the sidewalk, both women stood in stunned silence.

"Excuse me?"

They turned to see a man in a chauffeur outfit standing by. "Are you Mrs. Samantha Reads?" Samantha nodded. The chauffeur held out a white envelope to her. "Keys are inside, papers are in the car."

Samantha took the envelope and stuttered out a 'thank you'. The man left in a taxi.

"Samantha…" Alice inched closer to the car.

"Yeah…." Samantha also inched closer.

"Bruce bought you a car…"

"Yes…yes, he did."

Their eyes met and grins broke out on their faces. "A car!" they cheered. Samantha was giggling like a kid as she opened the envelope and took out the key.

"Come on, hurry up and open it!" Alice cheered as she waited for her friend to unlock the car. They tumbled into the vehicle and Alice inhaled deeply through her nose. "It's got that new car smell!"

"Hey, there's another note." Samantha took the envelope that was on the dashboard and opened it.

_Samantha,  
After you told me about the Joker disguising himself as a taxi driver, I've never been able to stop worrying about you every time I see you take a cab. Now we both don't have to worry about the driver. Enjoy and be safe,  
Bruce._

Alice stopped fiddling with the radio after Samantha finished reading aloud. "Aaaw. How sweet. Now I wish I had a Sugar Daddy," she playfully whined.

The remark caught Samantha off guard. That was something she hadn't expected to hear from Alice. "What! Bruce isn't my Sugar Daddy!"

"Samantha, the man offered to buy you an apartment, he takes you to fancy places and lets you eat expensive food, and he's bought you a car. You have a Sugar Daddy."

Samantha considered Alice's words. Suddenly she put a hand to her forehead and gave a breathless laugh. "Oh my gosh; I do!" The two friends laughed long and hard. "Really, Alice; Bruce and I are just friends," she insisted after a minute or two.

"Oh _I _know that, you know that… but does _he _know that?"

Samantha scoffed. "Bruce knows."

"No. Not Bruce."

Samantha's brow furrowed. _"Who else could she be talking about?" _she wondered. She glanced over at Alice to see her gazing at the wedding ring. _"Oh."_ Samantha's face lost all trace of amusement.

Did the Joker know? Did he only get bits and pieces of news and thought she and Bruce were dating? Was Bruce in danger? Samantha squeezed her eyes shut to cut off all the questions that were attacking her brain.

"Harley's birthday is tomorrow," Samantha said, trying to change the subject. "I'm going to visit her." She smiled sadly. "Will you come with me?"

Alice bit her lip, thinking, and then shook her head. "I'm… I'm really sorry, Samantha but… I'm just not as brave as you. I can't. Not when I know that _he's _in the same building."

Samantha placed a comforting hand on Alice's. "It's okay."

"Tell her I said, 'happy birthday.' Okay?"

"Sure."

Alice's cell phone chose that moment to ring. She looked at the caller ID and gave a cheerful squeal. "It's Billy!" She pressed the button to accept his call. "Hi, sweetie!" She listened for a moment and blushed bright pink at whatever Billy said. "Oh, you want to have lunch with me?" Alice looked at Samantha.

"Go ahead. I want to try out my new ride!"

Alice giggled. "Okay. I'll see you soon, Billy… I love you, too." She hung up and hugged Samantha. "Thanks, Samantha. I'll be back after lunch."

"Don't keep Romeo waiting."

Samantha had smiled the whole time until Alice left. But once she was gone and Samantha had pulled the car away from the curb, the smile fell. She was remembering the time she had been giddy when Edward would call her. She wished Alice and Billy the best of luck, but it made her heart ache every time she saw them together.

**(Okay, so, this wasn't the best chapter but I'm trying to get back in the swing of things! And I introduced the Hatter early! Don't worry, he'll be back! So will the Joker! And Edward!  
Joker: "Nobody cares about him!"  
Me: "Geez, Mister Jealous."**

**Anyway, I'd like to know that my readers are still out there! Please leave a review! Until next time!)**


End file.
